Naruto: ninja or hunter?
by TheSmilingMask
Summary: Sometimes, fate loves to play with the lives of mortals, but what happens when it decides to twist someone's life? Naruto wants to become a ninja so he can achieve his dream, but now that 'The Hunt' is getting closer and he has signed a contract, what will be his choice? Hunter/Smart/Strong/Cold Naruto. Heavy gore and splatter. FemKyu. FemHaku. Death of main characters. R&R! ENJOY!
1. And so it begins

**Good evening to all and welcome to my new story which is born completely out of nowhere (as almost all my other stories)! As you have read the summary, this will be a crossover fanfiction between Naruto and Bloodborne set mostly in the world of our young ninja.**

 **Now, a couple of warnings to get started on the right foot. Since a child of twelve provided with a cleaver might not seem very realistic, in this story all the characters start with the age of Shippuden although at the beginning of the canon story. Simply put, Naruto will have fifteen years although still at the academy and so on.**

 **Second warning: this story will contain a huge amount of gore, splatter, lemon and other things for adults, so you have been warned (but will put the warning at the beginning of each chapter).**

 **Reviews are always well received as well as the advices and critical comments to help me to improve. I hope that the story is to your liking and without further delays, here's the first chapter of 'Naruto: ninja or hunter?', Enjoy!**

 **DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN NARUTO NOR BLOODBORNE**

NOTE:

"Human dialogues"

 _'Human thoughts / mental dialogues'_

" **Demonic dialogues"**

 _ **'Demonic thoughts / mental dialogues'**_

* * *

 **CHAPTER 1: And so it begins**

It was an evening like many others in Konoha. The shops had been closed and the various houses were audible the laughs of children at the dinner table with their parents. However, there was a small restaurant that looked more alive than all the rest, and this was due to a boy with short blond hair intent on devouring his favorite food.

"Another bowl, please!"

"Coming up!" a young brown-haired girl came up to the counter of the restaurant, putting a big bowl of ramen in front of the guy who had ordered it, then taking away the ten empty bowls.

"Naruto, I seem to note that tonight you have more appetite than usual!" a man said, appearing from the kitchen of the restaurant with a smile in sight.

"You can bet on it, old man! Tomorrow I will become a genin so I'll be a step closer to becoming Hokage!" Naruto shouted, finishing the bowl of ramen at a superhuman speed. The girl and the man, as better known as Ayame and Teuchi, the blonde smiled, pleased with his goal.

"I'm sure you'll make Naruto! You trained a lot for tomorrow's exam, therefore, it will be fine!" Ayame exclaimed, then disappearing into the kitchen with the empty bowls. Her father nodded convinced but then suddenly became alarmed at seeing Naruto intent to cough heavily "Naruto, are you okay?"

"Yeah, don't worry, it's just a bit of a cough. Tomorrow I'll be like new!" Naruto reassured him then, getting up from the stool and putting the money for the food on the counter "See you tomorrow to celebrate my promotion! Good night Ayame-nee-chan!"

"Good night Naruto! See you tomorrow!" came the voice of Ayame from the kitchen and, after greeting also Teuchi, Naruto walked toward his apartment, still coughing along the way.

' _Damn, this cough don't want to go away! At this rate I will become the same as that ninja that I saw sometimes in the office of Hokage-jiji...Hayate, if I remember correctly._ ' Naruto thought, trying to drown out other attacks of coughing, without success.

' _ **For sure it's a very peculiar cough. I should be able to heal whatever ails you, yet I can't cure you from this cough.**_ ' said a deep voice in his mind, getting his attention.

' _Well let's not think too much_ _Kurama_ _, it's just coughing._ I just hope that it won't compromise my exam tomorrow...'

' _ **If you say so, kit. I'll try again to see what I can do about it, you're not the only one who can not sleep because of this stupid cough!**_ ' the voice said, cutting the mental link. Naruto smiled and shook his head at hearing the justification of his tenant.

It's been three years now that the young boy had discovered the demon sealed inside him, the powerful nine-tailed demon fox, the Kyuubi. In spite of the initial discomfort, the two were able to coexist together and the demon had helped him in his training by teaching him some things to become a ninja even if she couldn't do much due to the seal. The demon, whose name was Kurama, was a female (the thing had shaken a lot Naruto but had put aside the amazement as not to unnerve the demon) amazingly quiet despite appearances, and had explained to Naruto that, the night of the attack where his parents had died, she had been controlled by a ninja with the Sharingan and that she had not had any intention to attack the village. After a long talk, the two had become 'friends' even though Kurama continued to tease him on several occasions, leaving him to himself most of the time. After all, she always took care whenever he was wounded by the villagers, so he could take care of himself.

Thinking back on that night with a slight smile, Naruto nearly choked due to a much more violent than normal coughing attack that forced him to lean against a wall.

Putting a hand to his mouth, he could feel something warm wet it, then looking at his hand, he was horrified to see it covered in blood.

' _ **Naruto, there's something wrong! I can't find the cause of this disease and I don't understand why you're coughing up blood!**_ ' Kurama said in alarm as Naruto fell to his knees, vomiting more blood.

' _What's...happening..to me...?'_

With one last cough, he collapsed completely to the ground, fainting after a few seconds.

 **In an unknown location**

Naruto slowly opened his eyes, looking confused at the ceiling above him. Turning his head slightly, he saw an iron rod with a drip hanging full of blood. Around him he could notice some shelves full of books and test tubes, lit only by a few candles.

' _A doctor's office...? How did I get here?_ ' Naruto thought then he heard a strange creaking to his right.

"Oh yes...Paleblood...heh!" narrowing his eyes, Naruto spotted the silhouette of a bearded man on a wheelchair wearing a big hat and a cape over his shoulders. The man then said "Well, you've come to the right place. Yharnam is the home of blood ministration. You need only unravel its mystery."

' _Yharnam...? Blood ministration...?' What he is talking about?_ ' Naruto wondered, then realizing that he could not move due to some straps that held him stuck on a lounger.

Ignoring his confusion, the man approached by spinning the wheels "But, where's an outsider like yourself to begin?" now he was even closer, with his face bent down to the floor "Easy, with a bit of Yharnam blood of your own..."

Finally he stopped, raising his face so as to show his empty sockets, only covered with thin white gauze "But first, you'll need a contract..."

' _A contract? What kind of contract and why I can't talk?!_ ' Naruto was increasingly agitated but that didn't stop that old man from cutting him with a knife on the palm of his right hand, then making drip the blood on a piece of paper. Calmly, he rolled up the paper by putting it away "Good. All signed and sealed. Now, let's begin the transfusion." the man seemed to notice the visible fear on Naruto's face "Oh, don't you worry. Whatever happens...you may think it all a mere bad dream..."

The sight of the boy blurred after a few seconds and, before passing out again, he could hear the disturbing laughter of that man who moved away from the table without turning around even once.

After some time, Naruto regained consciousness, awakened by a very strange noise. Looking around, he found that he was still tied to the damn table, only that now the room was completely dark. The noise grew louder to his left and the first thing he thought was running water or anything like that.

Turning to that side, he realized that it was something far worse.

Eyes wide with fear, he saw a huge puddle of blood from which came out a head. Slowly, the whole body of the creature came out, revealing to be a big werewolf with the fur completely covered in blood. Slowly, the creature began to move toward him, looking at him with its bright green eyes. Within seconds it was beside him and reached out a hand equipped with sharp claws towards his face.

Just to catch fire, shortly before touching him.

Naruto watched the creature squirming in pain for several seconds before collapsing to the ground next to the cot. Before he could understand what had happened, he felt something touch his left leg. Moving his eyes, his heart skipped a beat at seeing a kind of abomination humanoid, pale and big as his entire arm.

But it was not alone.

Soon, another one appeared to his right then one near the feet, until he was completely surrounded. Looking at the ceiling in the throes of pure fear, he saw at least six beings now close to his face.

' _Go away! Don't touch me! GO AWAY!_ '

 **Naruto's apartment**

An ear-splitting shriek rang out in the air and Naruto jumped out of bed breathing heavily and completely covered in sweat. Looking around he finally managed to calm down after a few minutes, leaning against his bed.

' _It was just...a dream?'_ Naruto thought ' _No...it was a nightmare..._ '

' _ **Naruto, you're finally awake!**_ '

' _Kurama? What the hell happened? I just remember that I've started coughing while I was walking home and then nothing else..._ ' Naruto asked, trying to remember something more.

' _ **I don't know. When you fainted I lost any form of contact with you and when I was able to re-establish the mental link, you were already in your bed in the throes of some nightmare. I tried to wake you up but without success.**_ ' Kurama said checking his body for any abnormality. Naruto was silent for a moment, then decided to forget about it. Noting the time, he prepared a quick breakfast and left the house, locking the door.

Jumping from rooftop to rooftop, he reached the academy and went into his class. With a quick glance, he spotted a boy with black hair sitting little far away, staring up at the sky outside the window.

' _That Sasuke-teme is always the same. Well I don't have time to waste with him today, I have to try to recover a bit of sleep or I will risk to fall asleep during the exam._ ' Naruto then walked to the desks at the bottom of the class and went to the corner farthest from the door, then leaning his head on his folded arms on the desk.

With every passing minute, other students entered but Naruto did not look at any of them. He had to sleep before the arrival of two certain girls.

"GET OUT OF THE WAY, INO-PIG!"

"YOU'RE THE ONE WHO IS IN MY WAY, FOREHEAD!"

' _ **Say goodbye to your rest.**_ ' Kurama chuckled as Naruto just sighed in resignation. And to think that he, in the past, was infatuated with that pink haired banshee.

A moment later, a pink-haired girl ran into the class, pushing away a girl with long blond hair "I'm the one who will sit next to Sasuke-kun!"

"Forget it! I'll sit next to him! Your huge forehead would only bother him!" the blonde yelled back running after the classmate until they were both close to Sasuke, who restricted himself to ignore them with a simple "Hn."

Shaking his head, Naruto tried in vain to rest, until someone put a hand on his shoulder. Looking up, the blond saw boy with a white dog on his head, back away abruptly.

"Hey man, what happened to you? You look awful!" the boy said, and his dog barked to confirm his observation.

"I only had a nightmare, Kiba. Nothing more." Naruto explained with a tired look, trying again to rest a little.

"Well it must have been a really bad nightmare to reduce you to this state." before Naruto could reply, the classroom door swung open and the two teachers made their entrance.

The first of them, Iruka, gave a quick look at Naruto, arching an eyebrow at seeing him half asleep but decided to not think about it for the moment. He had an exam to start. His companion, however, could barely hide a slight grin to see that Naruto did not appear in full force in order to take the exam ' _It seems that the demon brat won't be able to be promoted! Great, so I'll be able to carry out my plan!_ '

"Ok students be quiet!" Iruka shouted, silencing any form of chatter "Today is finally the day when you will become real ninja! These years of academy helped you learn the basics, but I want to remind you that your trip is just beginning and that you will improve until you have the will to do it!" after a few seconds of silence, Iruka took a clipboard and a pencil "We will now begin the exam which will be divided into three parts. To overcome it, you will have to properly perform the **Kawarimi no Jutsu (Body Replacement Technique)** , the **Henge no Jutsu (Transformation Technique)** and the **Bunshin no Jutsu (Clone Technique)**!"

Iruka then began to call each student to subject him or her to the test and, from above, Naruto could see that everyone was able to use those three jutsu.

' _Sigh, I'm screwed! The_ _ **Bunshin**_ _is my weakness, I never managed to create more than one clone and each time it had a cadaverous appearance!'_ Naruto despaired mentally, scratching his head.

' _ **Do not give up right now, Naruto. It is true that with your enormous chakra reserves it would be impossible to carry out the jutsu, but you practiced in your chakra control, so you will make it.**_ ' Kurama tried to reassure him right before his turn came. After a deep breath, Naruto walked toward his teacher who nodded at him once to wish him good luck.

"Ok Naruto, let's start with the **Kawarimi**." Iruka said while throwing at him a wooden Kunai. Naruto was able to use the jutsu successfully, making appear in his place a chair and Iruka nodded with satisfaction, noting the boy sat back in the back of the classroom.

"Very well Naruto. Now, let's see your **Henge**." after a moment of concentration, Naruto used the technique and a 'puff' rang in the air, covering his entire body with white smoke. Once the smoke dissipated, Iruka nodded with a smile at seeing an exact copy of himself.

"Perfect Naruto, now we just have to see your **Bunshin**." Naruto gulped, but then made the hand signs required for the technique. With a resounding 'puff' another cloud of smoke covered him completely, but this time, Iruka sighed heavily. In front of him there were the real Naruto and three pale clones, slumped to the ground.

"No good Naruto, you still can not perform this jutsu and it's necessary to become genin. I'm sorry, but I can not promote you." Iruka said, and his companion tried to change his mind "Are you sure Iruka? I know that he was not able to execute it perfectly but still he has an iron will and I'm sure he would find a way to improve. He still performed the other two techniques without any difficulty."

"I know Mizuki, but I can not risk to sending him out there without having learned at least these three jutsu." then he turned to Naruto "I'm sorry Naruto, there is always next year."

"I...understand..." Naruto whispered before leaving the classroom, ignoring the laughter of some of his classmates. Inside him, Kurama took note of the names of those kids. Once broken the seal, they would be the first ones to die.

' _ **Kit, I'm sorry about that. You trained for a long time yet that jutsu made you fail. I should have found a better way of training.**_ '

' _Nah, don't worry. We'll think of something for next year._ ' despite apparently he was simply sad, Naruto was completely devastated inside. His dream was to become Hokage so as to be recognized by all the citizens of Konoha, yet he was unable to overcome even a test to become genin. A test for which he had practiced day after day. Sighing once again, Naruto went out from the academy through a window and went to sit on a swing placed not far from the entrance. Within a few minutes, the various students came out one after another and he saw them rejoice together with their parents, who praised them with broad smiles.

"Hey, can I have a word with you?" asked a voice behind him. Turning around, Naruto saw Mizuki leaning against the tree trunk, with a strange smile on his face.

"Mizuki-sensei, what do you want?"

Mizuki moved away from the trunk and walked beside the blond "Naruto listen, I know that Iruka was hard on you, but he did it for your own good. You must understand that he also has to do his job."

"I know, I'm not angry with him. I'll try again next year." Naruto said looking at the ground, missing the evil grin of Mizuki.

"Actually there is a special test for those like you who have the skills but fail to implement them. If you can complete it, you will be promoted instantly." Mizuki said, his grin turning into a smile. Naruto looked up instantly "Really?! I can still be a genin?"

Mizuki nodded but Kurama's voice echoed in his mind ' _ **Naruto, t** **he special exam story does not convince me. This idiot has always tried to sabotage you, why should he help you right now?**_ '

' _I know, there is something strange, but I might as well try to see what he wants me to do._ ' Naruto thought, then looking again at his teacher "What should I do?"

 **That night, in the forest behind the Hokage Rock**

"Well, that was easy." Naruto said, sitting against a tree in order to open the huge scroll that had just taken from the Hokage's tower.

' _ **I must say I'm surprised. This is a forbidden scroll yet there was no guard...you humans and your arrogance. I bet no one thought to a possible theft.**_ ' Kurama growled and Naruto couldn't help but to agree with her.

"Now I just have to learn a technique from this scroll so that I can be promoted. If in the end it will be just a lie of Mizuki-teme...well I will have gained a technique." Naruto said, opening for good the scroll. After a few minutes spent reading the various jutsu, he found a very unusual one. In fact, it was the only written in red instead of black and Kurama immediately noticed that detail.

' _ **Naruto, that's not ink. It's blood and is also recently...how the hell is that possible? This scroll was covered with dust, no one should have touched it for years.**_ ' Naruto could not give her an answer and so he began to read that strange jutsu.

" **Ketsueki ekō no noroi** **(Curse of the blood echoes)**. With blood, you'll get experience. With experience, you'll obtain power. With power, you will receive madness. Seeks the Paleblood to transcend the hunt." Naruto remained silent, re-reading several times that rhyme "What hell is this jutsu? It doesn't say anything else and there aren't the hand signs required for it! What a waste of time!"

"Naruto!" the boy jumped on the spot turning due to the fright but calmed down after identifying Iruka little away from him "What the hell are you doing? Why did you steal that scroll?"

"Looking at your expression I can understand that there is no secret test, isn't it?" Naruto asked in a calm voice.

Iruka raised an eyebrow "Secret test? What are you talking about? There's nothing like that."

"Mizuki told me that, if I could steal this scroll and learn a technique, I would have been promoted but apparently it was all a hoax." Naruto explained and Iruka instantly became alarmed. Why Mizuki would do something like that?

The answer was a rain of shuriken that hit Iruka in full, making him slam against a tree. Naruto immediately looked up and growled at Mizuki, intent on watching him with a grin.

"Well well, it seems that the demon brat have made it. Now, give me that scroll and I'll let you go!" Mizuki shouted brandishing a fuuma shuriken with his right hand. At that moment, Iruka stood up, removing some shuriken from his body "Mizuki, what the hell does it all mean?"

"You wouldn't understand Iruka, everything you need to know is that before dawn I will be already far away from here with that scroll!" Mizuki yelled hurling his weapon towards his former friend. Iruka threw himself to the ground just in time to avoid the blow as Naruto tried to hit Mizuki with several kunai but his target avoided them jumping to the ground.

"Eh! You'll have to do better than that demon! I'm stronger than...!"

A menacing growl behind him silenced him instantly. Naruto and Iruka's eyes widened at seeing a huge figure approaching Mizuki with the sharp teeth placed in plain sight and the blond felt a chill of fear in recognizing him.

' _It's...it's the same beast of the nightmare!_ '

Mizuki turned to face the new threat but, with a quick movement of the arm, the monster slashed his chest, spraying blood everywhere. The ninja collapsed back to the ground screaming in pain but, before he could even try to save himself, the werewolf crushed his chest with a paw to hold it to the ground. Without hesitating even for a second, the beast bit into the left shoulder of Mizuki and tore off his arm with his teeth, tearing at his flesh as if it was butter. The man's screams echoed in the forest and Naruto could not help but tremble at the sight of that monster. The creature then began eating the arm of Mizuki, continuing to crush him against the ground until his ribs broke down one after the other, emitting some macabre sounds.

"NARUTO!" Iruka shouted gaining his attention "Get out of here! Run away! I will try to stop this beast!"

"What...?"

' _ **Naruto, I know you do not want to leave him but you can not stop that thing! It is not of this world! You have to go now to look for someone, certainly the Hokage has already sent someone to look for you due to the theft!**_ ' Kurama yelled in his mind, but before he could respond in any way, the werewolf snapped at him with its mouth wide open.

Iruka cursed for his carelessness and threw several kunai toward the creature who avoided them all thanks to its speed. Not knowing what to do, Naruto ran into the trees with the creature behind him. He ran for a few minutes but to him they seemed like hours and eventually he founded himself on top of one of the many hills present there.

Holding a kunai to defend himself, Naruto spun around himself, just in time to see the huge creature ready to hit him in the chest. The claws dug into his flesh making him scream in pain and the force of the impact threw him backward, making him roll down the hill in the middle of bushes and trees. Screaming at each impact, Naruto could not stop and, at the base of the hill, he violently slammed his head against a rock.

Despite the chakra of his tenant and her screams, the darkness took him quickly, and a gentle female voice echoed in his mind.

' _Ahh, you've found yourself a hunter..._ '

* * *

 **And here we are! So, what do you think? I used many phrases of Bloodborne without changing them while I've just created the jutsu, although in the next chapter I will explain it better. Now, however, I will entrust to you the future of Naruto! What weapons should he get at the beginning? The options are the same as in the game so tell me what you would like to see!**

 **Also, I just want to let you know that Naruto will become colder and intelligent with each passing chapter. It will not be an immediate change so do not worry, in the end you will have your protagonist covered in blood, cold and without fear (hopefully)!**

 **That said, have a good night and see you around!**

 **P.S: If you have any proposals for a possible pairing, propose as well!**


	2. A night of hunting

**Good evening to all and welcome back with 'Naruto: ninja or hunter?'. I'm really glad this story has found some success and I sincerely thank those who have left a review! I would also like to thank castlecrasher009 for giving me an excellent idea that I will use later in the story!**

 **Just to give you a preview, in this chapter will be shown the Hunter's Dream, we'll find out what awaits Naruto and finally we will see him in action!**

 **I would say that we can start so I wish you a good reading! ENJOY!**

 **WARNING: this story will contain a huge amount of gore, splatter, lemon and other things for adults, so you have been warned.**

 **DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN NARUTO NOR BLOODBORNE**

NOTE:

"Human dialogues"

 _'Human thoughts / mental dialogues'_

" **Demonic dialogues"**

 _ **'Demonic thoughts / mental dialogues'**_

* * *

 **CHAPTER 2: A night of hunting**

An odd air of tranquility and peace hovered around him and his calm breaths were the only audible sound.

Strange.

He didn't feel any kind of pain and yet remembered well the attack of the beast and the various impacts against the trees down to the bottom of the hill. Perhaps the chakra of his tenant had already taken care of his wounds and he was just lying on the ground in the middle of the night, or he was simply dead. When you say the optimism...

Opening his eyes slowly, Naruto quickly realized two things. First, he was lying on some uneven stones and it was a very uncomfortable position. The second was that the full moon was larger than normal. Turning his head slightly, he saw the bushes next to him, surrounded by small rocks, creating some strange flower beds. Obviously the various tombstones positioned side by side were perfectly normal in comparison.

"Oh, thank goodness you're awake!" said a woman's voice on his left. Turning to the origin of the voice, Naruto gasped. Beside him there was a young woman with long blond hair tied up in nine different ponytails, two of which framed her face, while the others covered her back. Her slightly tanned complexion showed off her brilliant green eyes with similar pupils to those of..."Kurama? Is that you?"

With a broad smile, Kurama nodded, helping him sit up. Still groggy from the blow, Naruto could not help but notice her clothing. At the foot she wore high brown boots, while her legs were covered with a long black skirt combined with a brown leather bodice provided with white sleeves. Her hands were covered with red silk fingerless gloves while, on her shoulder, she wore a brown cloak with golden embroidery. Finally, around the neck there was a small red scarf that fell between her breasts ( **practically the P** **l** **ain Doll's clothes without the hat** ).

Noting his eyes, Kurama grinned "Enjoying the view?"

Naruto immediately looked away with a slight blush on his cheeks, trying to focus on the surroundings. The atmosphere seemed incredibly cold but it was beautiful. In front of him, there was like a small hill a few meters high and, on top of it, there was a large stone house, built in a style that he had never seen anywhere else. All around it was full of trees and bushes full of white flowers and, on the right, there was a stone stairway that led in front of a closed wooden door. To the left of the hill, however, there was a simple path with seven tombstones on the left side, which led to another wooden door on the side of the house.

What most caught his attention, however, was a young girl with closed eyes, sitting on a stone upward at the base of the hill, next to the staircase. Her clothing was equal to that of Kurama with the addition of a particular red hat which, starting from the nape, widened forward. Her complexion was pale and seemed to be a porcelain doll, while her long hair was white as snow and two longer locks covered her ears, ending at the collarbone. Kurama also had to admit that she was an incredibly beautiful girl.

"So I'm really dead...I must say that I imagined the afterlife differently." Naruto said and Kurama rolled her eyes "You're not dead. We are in your mindscape."

"WHAT?! The last time I was here I created a waterfall surrounded by a forest with the addition of a cave for you! By the way, since when did you become a human?!"

"I can change my appearance every time I want but my original form is my favorite. Talking about something more serious, this place has replaced your original mindscape just when you fainted. A moment later I founded myself here with you with these clothes on, although I don't mind too much." Kurama explained looking at the house. Just then, the front wooden door of the house creaked open.

"You say that we should go?" Naruto asked and Kurama nodded "Obviously, we can not stay here forever, and I think there is nothing to fear."

"Fine by me but if you say that there's nothing to fear..." Naruto began looking over his shoulder "Why did you hide behind me?"

"This is your mindscape in theory, so you go first!"

Naruto rolled his eyes but walked toward the stairs, throwing a last look at the sleeping girl. In his heart, however, there was the doubt that she was in fact dead since he didn't hear any sound coming from her, not even a breath. Within seconds, the two were at the top of the stairs and Naruto stepped timidly into the house and found that in fact there was only one room.

To his left, the wall was covered with shelves filled with books, only interrupted by two open wooden doors, evidently he hadn't seen one of them from outside. To his right, on the other hand, there were several shelfes full of bottles and test tubes, a huge crate placed on the floor, a roaring log fire and what looked like a workbench with strange weapons resting near it. On the opposite side of the room, finally, there was a small stone altar, and shortly behind, a statue of a woman with arms crossed over her chest.

After observing the entire furniture, Naruto finally noticed a man in a wheel chair sitting in front of the fireplace.

He was old and his white hair and wrinkles were a strong evidence. Leaning forward, the old man rested both hands on the knob of a cane, silently staring at the fireplace. A ruined black top hat was on his head as an elegant red dress worn by time, combined with a scarf of the same color, covered his body.

Naruto came up with Kurama and, without looking at him, the man spoke "Ah-hah, you must be the new hunter. Welcome to the Hunter's Dream. This will be your home, for now." he then turned to the blond with a smile "I am Gehrman, friend to you hunters. You're sure to be in a fine haze about now, but don't think too hard about all of this. Just go out and kill a few beasts. It's for your own good."

"Beasts? You mean that monster similar to a wolf that attacked me? I should kill it for my own good?" Naruto asked confused and Gehrman nodded with a new smile "You know, it's just what hunters do! You'll get used to it..."

"Wait a minute, old man." Kurama interjected with a hard glare "What do you mean with 'You will get used to it'? You mean that Naruto will kill other beasts sooner or later? And what the hell is this place?"

Gehrman glanced at her, putting her slightly in awe with his black eyes "This was once a safe haven for hunters. A workshop where hunters used blood to enhance their weapons and flesh." with one hand he pointed to the workbench "We don't have as many tools as we once did, but you're welcome to use whatever you find." and eventually he whispered "Even the doll, should it please you..."

However, both Naruto and Kurama heard him and, while the boy just blushed slightly, perhaps misinterpreting the words of Gehrman, Kurama snorted loudly. After a moment of confusion, however, Naruto took a step forward "Wait a moment. I still don't understand what you're talking about. What are these hunters and from where has come that monster, which nearly killed me?"

Gehrman leaned against the back of his wheelchair, closing his eyes "You have signed a contract, haven't you?"

Naruto's eyes widened in surprise at hearing those words, while Kurama looked at him confused. The boy then looked down "So...it wasn't a dream?"

"No, it was not although it might seem." Gehrman reached into his dress and pulled out a rolled-up sheet of paper. Unrolling it, he showed the content to the two and Naruto could see drops of blood at the bottom of it. His own blood.

"What is that?" Kurama asked more confused then ever.

"This is a contract signed by Naruto in exchange for a cure for his illness which, otherwise, would have lead him to a slow and agonizing death." Gehrman explained looking at the boy "Haven't you noticed yet? He stopped coughing for a while now."

This time, it was Kurama who widened her eyes. She hadn't noticed it. Since he had woken up, Naruto had not cough even once. Slowly, she turned to the blonde and asked "Naruto, when did you signed that contract?"

With a deep sigh, Naruto turned to her and recounted about the nightmare from the beginning to the end. After hearing the whole story, Kurama stared at him with shocked eyes then looked back at Gehrman "So now...Naruto is a hunter, and his purpose is to eliminate these beasts?"

"In a nutshell, yes, but his purpose is much more important. Now there is no time to discuss it, the time in your world is still running and the beast won't be satisfied with the blood of only a victim. Once killed, come back here. I'll explain everything you need to know." Gehrman said leaning again forward on his cane.

"But how do I kill it?"

A broad smile formed on the lips of the old man, who tapped a shot at the ground with his cane. From the floor, close to Naruto's feet, sprang two small groups of white creatures, the same of his nightmare. The left group lifted a disturbing weapon consisting of a curved blade, covered with some bandages, connected to a wooden handle in the shape of an S, which was also partly covered by some bandages. From the point of conjunction, the blade descended toward the bottom, in line with the handle and, the part of blade directed towards the outside, was serrated and threatening, while the one turned towards the handle was smooth and sharp. Naruto gripped it with his right hand, surprised by how light it was. With a closer look, he noticed that the blade was connected to the handle by a sort of pin and, without even thinking, he raised his arm before lowering it with a sharp movement. Kurama stepped back on seeing the blade rotate on the pin with a metallic sound, turning the weapon from a saw into a more dangerous cleaver.

"That's a Saw Cleaver." Gehrman explained "As you can see, it can become another weapon in the space of a second. It was one of the favorite weapons from the past hunters."

Kurama looked down at the second group of creatures and raised an eyebrow at seeing one small pipe of iron and wood combined with a handle made of wood with a trigger located under the junction point. Also noting the weapon, Naruto gripped it with the left hand, watching it closely until Gehrman spoke again "That, on the other hand, is the Hunter Pistol. Pressing the trigger, it will fire a projectile made of quicksilver, a deadly element for those creatures, but that weapon alone will not help you to kill them. Be careful. There are only twenty bullets for now. When you'll come back here, I'll teach you how to create others, now go. The hunt is waiting for you, young hunter."

Naruto looked down at his new weapons "What if I fail?"

"You won't fail, I recognize a good hunter when I see it." Gehrman said with a smile and seconds later, Naruto's body began to vanish, leaving Kurama in the company of that old man. The demon girl turned to him "Now, you'll tell me everything you know. I can not stand the idea of leaving Naruto struggling with something like that and I want to help him any way I can. I treated the wounds caused by that beast but it took longer than expected."

"Of course it took longer than expected, to treat that kind of wound, Naruto needs blood. Don't doubt about me, I will explain everything, but for now, I'd recommend you to follow his battle, or better said, his hunt." and he pointed to the door next to him. Going out, Kurama founded herself on a small strip of elevated land with a small white fountain to her left. Looking inside, she could see the forest around Naruto from his own eyes.

' _Naruto, be careful..._ '

 **With Naruto, Real World**

Naruto quickly looked around, trying to understand where he was. He could see the top of the hill from which he was rolled down, so he rushed in that direction, holding the weapons that had appeared beside him when he had awakened, and strangely he wasn't surprised.

Well, with everything that was happening now it was difficult to surprise him anymore...

Arriving at the top, he sought some sign of the creature but instead he founded something else that caused a shiver down his spine. Several shuriken driven into the ground and against two trees nearby, signs of claws on the ground and a big sketch of blood on the grass.

Kneeling beside the blood, he grazed it with his fingers and felt it still warm. The clash was recently but something told him that that wasn't the blood of the beast, there was too much for a simple wound caused by a shuriken or a kunai.

It was human blood and there was only one other person besides him in the forest.

' _Iruka-sensei!_ '

Without hesitating a moment, Naruto ran towards the spot where the creature had attacked and killed Mizuki. He arrived in seconds and swallowed a bit of bile on seeing the ground around Mizuki drenched in blood; not far away, there was still the forbidden scroll.

Just when the ideas were beginning to run low, an inhuman scream rang out in the night air, startling Naruto. He recognized that voice. It was Iruka's. Channeling a lot of chakra in his legs, Naruto ran to the source of the voice darting through the trees like a thunderbolt. He had never run so fast, and he knew that his muscles would not stand for too long, but now he had no time to lose.

After two long minutes, Naruto came out into a large clearing, and the first thing he saw was the back of the beast, intent to move toward Iruka, now slumped against a tree. Glancing at his teacher, Naruto's eyes widened in horror.

The left arm of Iruka had been torn away by the shoulder and, judging from the wound, it was not a blade to cut it off. The beast must have ripped it with brute force.

"Iruka-sensei!"

"Naruto?! What are you doing here?! Go away!" Iruka yelled but Naruto shook his head violently "I'm here to help!"

Pointing the gun at the creature, Naruto pulled the trigger and, though it was his first time, he managed to hit it in the back, making it turn on him with a snarl. Completely ignoring Iruka, the werewolf lunged at Naruto, catching up in the blink of an eye. The boy barely managed to throw himself to the side, avoiding the claws of the beast, but the monster continued with a rapid series of attacks, managing to scratch his left arm. Naruto tried to shoot again and hit it in the right shoulder but there was nothing except a slight daze. Shaking its head, the creature lunged forward again trying to bite him, but at the last its teeth stuck in a wooden log.

Hidden among the branches of a tree, Naruto carefully watched the beast which broke the log without too much trouble. Not far away, Iruka was trying to catch his breath due to the blood loss and, luckily for him, the beast did not seem interested in him.

' _The gun will serve me to distract the beast if it decides to go to Iruka-sensei, it's time to use this._ ' Naruto thought, watching his Saw Cleaver. After taking the measurements, he jumped out of his hiding place and brought a violent blow from above with the serrated edge of the blade. The metal sank heavily in the right shoulder of the creature, making it roar in pain. However, it managed to get away with a leap, leaving a trail of blood on the ground.

' _ **Well done, Naruto! It felt that blow for sure but it is not dead yet, so do not relax.**_ ' Kurama said observing the clash from the fountain. She was definitely worried about the boy but now she could not do much to help him. She had never faced such a being, therefore she did not want to recommend some disadvantageous tactic.

Naruto sprang forward with the beast and at the last second he made a side step, then managed to hit his prey on its right side, spilling more blood on the floor and on his clothes. The beast rolled on itself, trying to hit him with a paw but Naruto managed to avoid it and fired a third shot, without getting any concrete result. With a quick movement of the arm, Naruto changed the form to his weapon and attempted a blow from above but the beast made a side step and the attempt failed, leaving him defenseless. Naruto was forced to once again use the **Kawarimi** to avoid a potentially fatal blow, but this time, the beast spotted him immediately and jumped to the tree where he was hiding, destroying several branches.

Falling to the ground, Naruto was able to get up in time to throw himself backwards, thus avoiding the whole body of the enemy which, otherwise, would have crushed him. The beast leapt again towards him but Naruto, a second before being hit, used his gun again. The bullet struck the werewolf in the chest but, more importantly, it managed to stop the attack. The beast was stunned for a few seconds and Naruto took the opportunity to get away and catch his breath. The battle was protracting more than it should and Naruto knew that. He had a lot of stamina but he couldn't struggle too long with the new weapons against an enemy that seemed immortal. Seriously, he had to tear apart the beast to kill it?

' _Perhaps those hits were too light, I have to try to hit him with more force._ '

Changing again the form of his weapon, Naruto pounced on the beast by firing a shot to stun it that instant needed to pass next to it without being hit. Once behind the beast, Naruto brought his right arm back, ready to strike his prey with a more powerful blow but at that moment, he realized his mistake.

A hit with so much force behind couldn't be thrown immediately. He had to build his strength, and accumulating it had to wait at least two seconds, more than enough for the beast that had already turned toward him. The paw raised and ready to hit him directly at the head.

A lethal blow.

Naruto stared at the blood dirty claws which glowed with the light of the moon and for him, time seemed to slow. One moment he was staring at the beast ready to kill him, and the next moment, he was observing the stars through a light white smoke, leaning against a tree.

' _No..._ '

He immediately lowered his eyes, sensing a chakra all too familiar. His blue eyes met the black ones of Iruka, who had appeared in his place thanks to the **Kawarimi**. The man had a serene smile on his face.

' _No!_ '

Naruto didn't hear anything except the words of his teacher "I'm sorry Naruto, it seems that I won't be able to see you becoming Hokage."

' _NO!_ '

The beast struck Iruka with all its force, smashing his head and splattering blood on the nearest trees. Even before the body might fall to the ground, the werewolf grabbed the corpse with its teeth at the base of the neck and waved it in all directions, spreading all around even more blood, until the beast threw it against a tree.

The horrifying sound of broken bones rang in the air, followed by the thud of the corpse against the ground.

Naruto stared in shock at the dead body of Iruka, unable to conceive what has just happened in front of him. His heart had stopped as the same time that he had seen his smile and the last words of his teacher had struck him directly to the soul. Slowly, his gaze drifted over the beast, which had just turned toward him, and all his emotions changed abruptly. The fear became rage, the survival instinct became bloodlust and the desire to survive was replaced by an uncontrollable desire for revenge.

His pupils shrank visibly, the canines lengthened and his eyes turned red. Red as blood.

 **In Naruto's mindscape**

"W-what's happening?!" Kurama was visibly alarmed and the slight tremor that was shaking the whole house certainly didn't help "I can feel my chakra flow into Naruto's system, but something is wrong, it is not reacting as it should!"

Gehrman looked up at the moon with a serious look "The anger is distorting his mind but his unconscious desire for hunting is using that anger to make him stronger. Now, my dear, you'll discover what a hunter can do when he's in front of his prey."

 **With Naruto**

Naruto watched the beast with coldness and a strong wave of KI (Killing Intent) came out from his body, stiffening the werewolf which had sensed the danger. Slowly, he stood up tightening the grip on his weapons. In an instant, he vanished into thin air, startling the beast that, only at the last second, managed to hear him on its left. Turning around, the werewolf prepared a violent lateral blow but Naruto made several side steps, outflanking it in a heartbeat. Before the beast could react, Naruto struck it with two quick blows, tearing the left flank from which gushed a lot of blood, mixing with that of Iruka.

Naruto did not stood there even a second and, after taking a step back to avoid the monster's attack, he fired again, hitting the beast in the chest to slow it down so that he could move behind it again. With a fierce growl, the werewolf turned around quickly in order to kill its opponent once and for all, but when it brought the blow, it was slightly confused at seeing Naruto beyond the range of its paw, with his right arm raised toward the sky and the weapon turned into a cleaver.

Immediately after moving behind the beast, Naruto had made a simple step backward. He didn't know why, but he knew what was the effective radius of that creature's claws. He had took a few minutes to figure it out. Before the beast could back away, Naruto quickly dropped his weapon, cutting off the left ear of his prey, causing a roar of pain. Continuing with his assault, Naruto turned his weapon and struck a side blow, thrusting the blade into the skull of the beast, destroying its left eye. Without any difficulty, he jumped back and looked at the blood running down his weapon, ignoring the roars of the beast in pain.

Bringing back his attention on his prey, Naruto started to walk toward her, keeping the arms stretched along the body. The beast saw this and, roaring deeply, lifted again its right paw to strike him, but after a fight like that, it was tired and slow. Before it could hit, Naruto launched into the sky his Saw Cleaver and pointed forwards the gun, pulling the trigger. The bullet pierced the chest of the beast and, as before, the impact nullified the attack.

With a fluid movement of his right arm, Naruto charged a hit, and his hand was wrapped in a strange black and red aura. Screaming fiercely, the boy stuck his arm into the chest of the beast, destroying his ribcage and, taking a step forward, he stretched out his arm, throwing back his prey. A stream of blood spurted upward, drawing a parable in the air and leaving two ribs in the hand of Naruto who threw them away without looking. Making another step forward, he then grabbed on the fly his weapon.

With incredible calm, he approached the beast intent on squirming in a puddle of its own blood. When it felt him close, the creature looked up and everything that it saw was a serrated blade which stuck in the middle of its forehead, opening its skull in half. A huge splash of blood stained completely the sweatshirt of Naruto, making it red.

The boy drew his blade from the meat of the beast only to strike again, spraying more blood that stained even more his face and clothes. Then he struck the carcass, with more force, and then struck it again and again and again. In a few moments, he tore the flesh of the beast with more and more quick and strong strokes, spilling blood and pieces of bones all around.

' _ **Naruto stop! It's dead!**_ '

Naruto completely ignored the voice of Kurama and having again hit the body of his prey, he fired several shots with his pistol.

' _ **Please stop! It's over! The battle is over!**_ '

Once again, Naruto ignored her and, after firing the last bullet, threw down his gun, wielding the Saw Cleaver with both hands resuming to hit the carcass.

' _ **Naruto, stop! You're turning into a beast!**_ '

That stopped him. Blinking several times, his eyes returned to normal and the fatigue crushed his body, forcing him to take deep breaths to not fall to the ground. Looking down, Naruto felt the need to throw up.

The beast, or what was left of it, was an undefined mixture of bones, meat, internal organs and hair. The intestine was completely torn to pieces and the heart was perfectly cut in half as well as the stomach and the lungs. Part of the brain was splattered against his pants while, near his feet, there were the tongue and an eye floating in the blood. The smell of blood invaded his nostrils and that was too much for him. Without warning, he vomited his dinner on the carcass of his prey.

After several regurgitations, Naruto tried to catch his breath, staring at the sky with shocked eyes. Before Kurama could talk to him again, four masked figures landed behind him, wincing at the sight of the carnage. Turning to them, Naruto saw a woman with long purple hair and a cat mask. The woman had one hand on the hilt her sword and looked ready to fight. That, for him, was pretty strange. There was no enemy.

What he didn't know was what the ANBU was looking at. In front of her there was a boy of sixteen or so, covered in blood and with a strip of bile and saliva down his chin. Not the most reassuring thing in the world.

"Are you...Uzumaki Naruto?" she questioned while her comrades were ready to intervene.

Naruto nodded then remembering something extremely important "Where's Iruka-sensei? The beast struck him in the head and I seemed to see him die, but certainly I didn't see well and of course he managed to escape with a **Kawarimi**!"

The ANBU, as well as others, winced slightly and let go of her weapon. Naruto noticed the others bow their heads or look elsewhere, and a cold feeling gripped his heart.

' _No please, don't tell me that he's dead. He can't be dead..._ '

' _ **Naruto...I'm sorry...**_ ' Kurama's voice only served to increase his fear.

' _NO! He's not dead! He's alive and probably they're bringing him to the hospital!_ ' he then looked at the female ANBU "So, where's he...?"

The woman merely turned her head slightly to the right and Naruto looked over her shoulder. The ice grip around his heart clenched suddenly, snapping his breath. It wasn't a dream. It wasn't a hallucination. It wasn't an illusion. A few meters away, slumped at the base of a tree, there was Iruka's body with two ANBU intent to place it on top of a small scroll in order to seal and carry it to the morgue.

Naruto started to walk unconsciously, without losing sight of the body. The female ANBU stood aside, watching from behind the mask with eyes full of sadness. She was aware of the bond between Naruto and Iruka, and at that time, there were no words to ease the pain. The only thing she did was snap her fingers, drawing the attention of the two ANBU who, seeing Naruto walking toward them, made a few steps back.

Warm tears rolled down the cheeks of Naruto, mixing with the blood of his prey. In his mind, thousands of images followed each other in quick succession. The day that Iruka had appeared before them as a teacher. The first time they went together to eat ramen. The innumerable reproaches that Naruto had suffered due to of his pranks. The words of encouragement that Iruka told him every time something went wrong. The day when Naruto had revealed to Iruka his dream...

 _ **Flash-back – Five years ago – Ramen Ichiraku**_

"Naruto, today you haven't been correct with Sasuke." Iruka said looking at the blond at his right.

"He's just a blowhard! Why should I 'thank him' after a fight?" Naruto asked, finishing his fifth bowl of ramen.

"Because that's the rule!" Iruka shouted with his head larger then normal.

"Mh! When I will fulfill my dream, I'll remove that stupid rule!"

"Oh? And what would be your dream?" Iruka asked, eating his second bowl.

"Become Hokage, so as to be acknowledged by everyone!" Naruto said with a broad smile, then noting the surprised look of Iruka "You're going to laugh like everyone else, aren't you?"

Iruka smiled at him "Of course not, it's a dream, your dream, and no one should laugh at other people's dreams. I am sure that sooner or later you will become Hokage."

Naruto stared at him surprised but eventually showed his foxy grin "Thank you, Iruka-sensei! I will be the best Hokage ever existed!"

"I'm sure about it Naruto, and when you'll reach your goal, I will be there to watch the new Hokage!" Iruka said with a bright smile.

 _ **End Flash-back**_

It was all over. His mentor. His teacher. His first friend. He was dead.

"Ah...aahh...!"

Naruto fell to his knees in front of the body of his friend, crying uncontrollably. The memory of the last smile of Iruka still vivid in his mind.

"Aaaaah...!"

" _I'm sorry Naruto, it seems that I won't be able to see you becoming Hokage._ "

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!"

His screams echoed throughout the forest but no ANBU had the courage to approach him. Naruto put his hands on his face resting his forehead on the ground, screaming until to wear out his throat.

In his mindscape, Kurama covered her ears with her hands, crying silently. Hearing Naruto screaming like that was too much even for a demon like her, now that she had grown fond of him. Kurama wasn't, however, the only tormented from the boy's pain. Someone else, in fact, was watching from far away.

 **Hokage's Office**

The third Hokage bit hard on his lower lip to keep from crying. Through his crystal ball, he had seen all that had happened from the moment when Mizuki attacked Iruka and Naruto, and things went worse and worse. Now, the boy who he considered like a grandson, was on the ground intent to cry over the body of his first friend. His old heart could not bear such a sight, so he interrupted the flow of chakra, 'turning off' the ball.

With a deep breath, Hiruzen thought back to what happened, dwelling on the weapons used by Naruto to kill the beast. Turning to the wall with the photos of his predecessors, the old man came up to that of the First Hokage and shifted it, showing a seal. Applying a bit of chakra, a small explosion of white smoke arose before him, then showing a mannequin dressed with strange suits in black leather.

A Hunter Set.

' _It seems that a new hunter has arrived, Hashirama-sama. This is not a good sign..._ ' turning to the sphere, he sighed heavily ' _I have to talk to Naruto..._ '

* * *

 **And this chapter is over! So, what do you think? Satisfied? In the end, the choices for Naruto weapons were the Saw Cleaver (which won a vote on the Cane) and the Pistol (which won by a wide margin)!**

 **I hope you will continue to follow this story in the future and I'll try to update as soon as possible!**

 **See you around and have a good night!**


	3. Curse or Blessing?

**Good evening to all and welcome back with 'Naruto: ninja or hunter?'.**

 **I'm really happy that this story is having a modicum of success, and I thank you for the reviews! I also thank those who have placed this fic among their favorites or followed!**

 **As mentioned in the last chapter, the weapons of Naruto were chosen: Saw Cleaver (4 votes against 3 for the Cane and 1 for the Axe) and Hunter Pistol (6 votes against two for the Blunderbuss) but the fact remains that he'll continue to use shuriken, kunai and the various jutsu.**

 **So, after the death of Iruka, how will change the life of our new hunter? Let's find out! ENJOY!**

 **WARNING: this story will contain a huge amount of gore, splatter, lemon and other things for adults, so you have been warned.**

 **DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN NARUTO NOR BLOODBORNE**

NOTE:

"Human dialogues"

 _'Human thoughts / mental dialogues'_

" **Demonic dialogues"**

 _ **'Demonic thoughts / mental dialogues'**_

* * *

 **CHAPTER 3: Curse or Blessing?**

The night sky and the full moon welcomed Naruto. He was again lying on the ground on the uncomfortable rocks which was becoming a habit. A gentle breeze cooled his body, making him relax immensely but, after a few seconds of immobility, he decided to get up.

Just in time to be tackled by a girl who made him fall to the ground again. Yep, definitely a habit!

"Kurama? What are you...?"

"YOU IDIOT!" her scream silenced him instantly, making him wince slightly. He didn't notice it immediately, but at last he could hear her sobbing against his chest. Slowly, he placed a hand on her shoulder, but she drove it out with a light slap, sitting on his stomach with with a wrathful glance and some tears down her cheeks "What were you thinking?! Were you going to get yourself killed?! I counted at least six situations where you almost died!"

Naruto remained silent, looking at her dry her tears with the back of the hands "I'm The Nine-Tailed Demon Fox, for Kami's sake! I am the most powerful of the Bijuu and yet all I can do is looking at my container as he tries to get himself killed! What have I done wrong to deserve this..." and, without even warn, she slumped forward, resting her forehead against Naruto's shoulder. The boy smiled and patted her on the head "I'm sorry..."

"You will be better to being sorry. If you die, I die, and even if I can resurrect, it's never a pleasant thing." Kurama whispered, then getting to her feet, immediately imitated by the boy, who he looked toward the stone house. Without saying anything, he climbed along the staircase and entered, identifying Gehrman in front of the fireplace.

"Welcome back." Gehrman's voice was calm and serene, as if Naruto had just returned from a simple walk "So, I imagine that you're here for some answers, aren't you?"

Naruto stared at the fire with sad eyes "My teacher and friend died to save me from a beast popped out from my worst nightmares...now that I'm here, I want you to tell me everything." his gaze shifted to the old man "I can not hunt without knowing what I'm hunting, right?"

A slight smile formed on Gehrman's lips "I see you've already entered in the view of a hunter, very well. Have a seat, my boy, it will be a long talk, and of course your Doll can listen as well."

Naruto did as told while Kurama glared at him "Who are you calling 'Doll'?"

The old man chuckled "You will soon understand but for now listen to what has to say an old man like me." after both were seated, Gehrman looked back at the fire "You've probably heard the name, but there is a city named Yharnam, in a place far away, beyond what you call Land of Earth. In that city, there is a remedy for all illnesses, the Blood Ministrations, used by the Healing Church, an old as powerful organization that governs the city. I won't tell you how was born the church or where the idea of using blood comes from, because I know that you'll find out alone." Gehrman looked at some weapons leaning against the workbench "The hunters were born in that city, to face the beasts that threatened it. I was the first of them, the First Hunter."

Both Naruto Kurama eyes widened instantly. That old man was the first of the hunters? In the mind of the girl were formed several questions but said nothing, so as to allow Gehrman to continue his story.

"I was the one to design the weapons similar to the one that I entrusted to you and for this they granted me a huge workshop in the heart of the city, so as to produce more weapons along with my disciples, they also hunters. Over time, however, things changed. The Church created its own group of hunters who used different weapons than ours and I was forced to expel from the workshop several hunters who had decided to create more complex, lethal and dangerous weapons. The beasts never diminished and it was discovered that the Blood Ministrations were creating a form of dependence which could not be a good sign and in fact, as expected, more people got addicted to that drug, eventually turning into beasts; even some hunters were unable to resist to that poison and turned into monsters out of control. Soon, many crazed hunters began killing their comrades. Heh, hunters who were hunting for other hunters, it seems almost a bad joke."

Gehrman looked back at the fire, thinking back to those days "Me and my comrades continued to hunt those beasts but eventually my time came. I didn't die fighting but in a simple bed, waking up shortly after in this dream...with her."

"Her?"

Someone placed a hand on the shoulder of Naruto who turned slowly along with Kurama, finding himself staring at a pair of pale green eyes.

"Good evening, good hunter." said the Doll with a small smile on her face. Naruto would have jumped off the chair in shock if it weren't for the hand of the Doll who, revealing a considerable force, managed to keep him blocked in his place.

"She's alive?" Kurama asked looking at the Doll "I never sensed anything from her and she has always remained motionless."

Gehrman smiled "Shes a doll which has been given the life, she is like a human now. Anyway, where was I...?" as the old man tried to remember at what point of the story he had stopped, the Doll walked beside Naruto and stood with her hands crossed on her belly. The boy gave her a quick look and, noticing it, the doll smiled at him candidly, making him blush slightly. All under the gaze of Kurama who had a big throbbing vein on her forehead.

"Ah yes! Now I remember." Gehrman exclaimed, making them turn to him "After waking up in this place I believed to be finished in an illusion, however I soon realized that this was a dream, but at the same time it was not. New hunters came to this dream but, even if it was just a dream, they still managed to grow stronger here so as to hunt better. In summary, this place is like an alternate dimension located in your mind where you can access even at the physical level. For example, if you were to make a cut on your arm, in the real world the wound would open in the same way."

"So that's why, when I woke up in the forest, I had the weapons that you have given to me here?" Naruto asked and the old man nodded with a smile "Exactly. It's been decades since the last hunter, but as guide, I can help you as I helped everyone else."

"Who was the last hunter who came here?" Kurama asked, visibly curious. She was a demon who had lived for hundreds of years, but she had never heard of Yharnam or all the rest. Which was odd.

Gehrman seemed to think about it "If I remember correctly, his name was Hashirama Senju and, like you Naruto, was a ninja."

Naruto gasped while Kurama jumped to her feet "WHAT?! The First Hokage was a hunter?! That damn bastard who dared to seal me for the first time was trained by you?!"

"In a certain way...when he got here he was already incredibly skilled and, to my knowledge, has used what I taught to him just to kill some beasts and face a dangerous opponent. Certainly he wasn't referring to you, so he could have made contact with me after having sealed you." Gehrman hypothesized.

Kurama's eye twitched dangerously but before the situation could get worse, Naruto asked the old man "You said that you could train me...how much would it take to me to become strong?"

His tenant turned to him "Naruto, are you sure about this? If you decide to continue you may lose something very important..."

Naruto looked at the floor for a few seconds "It's my fault if Iruka is dead...if I think about it, I had only to decline the offer of Mizuki and perhaps nothing would have happened. If by becoming a hunter I'll be able to protect my loved ones, I will have no fear of losing my life."

" _I was not talking about your life..._ " Kurama thought but without giving voice to her thoughts.

As if nothing had happened, Gehrman nodded "I've said it and I can say with certainty that in a short time you'll be able to look after yourself without any difficulty, also here you can become stronger thanks to a very simple method."

"What kind of method?" Naruto asked hopeful to begin immediately. The idea of becoming a hunter still gave him a strange feeling but he couldn't let other people die, not if he could avoid it.

Gehrman thumped his cane on the ground and the doll moved beside him "If I say 'Blood Echoes' what do you think?"

Naruto stared at him confused "Blood Echoes? I can't think of anything about it and..." like a bolt from the blue, a memory suddenly appeared in his mind "That jutsu... the **Ketsueki ekō no noroi** **(Curse of the blood echoes)**."

"Yes, Hashirama must have transcribed it on that scroll for future hunters and apparently his intuition has proved successful. The moment you have read those few words, the curse of the Blood Echoes has been activated." Gehrman said in a serious voice.

"But...what are these Blood Echoes?"

The man gestured toward the small fountain positioned outside the door, the same from which Kurama had observed the fight between Naruto and the beast. Naruto and Kurama got up to go see and, in the thick liquid into the fountain, they saw the final moment of battle when Naruto dropped his blade into the skull of the beast, yet both noticed one thing. A thin red mist was leaking from the werewolf's body being then absorbed by Naruto through his whole body but, at that moment, the blond hadn't noticed it.

"Every time that you'll kill a beast or human infected with the blood disease, the essence of their blood will be absorbed by your body and will remain inside you until you will decide to use it to get stronger. Those are the Blood Echoes." Gehrman explain then moving his head towards the Doll "She will extract and convert them into pure essence which will melt permanently to your soul, strengthening your body accordingly."

Naruto stared at the old man and then the Doll "So...she could use the ones that I have absorbed from that beast? Even now?"

"Yes, even now. Go on."

Naruto turned completely towards the Doll who nodded "Very well...let the echoes become your strength. Let me stand close." she walked up to Naruto until she wasn't just a few centimeters from him and motioned for him to kneel, holding his right hand in hers "Now, shut your eyes..."

A white light sprang from her hands and Kurama was forced to cover her eyes with an arm to avoid being blinded. Within moments, the light faded to nothingness and the Doll let go of Naruto's hand, smiling at him.

"How do you feel?" Gehrman asked looking at the boy. Naruto looked at his hand, opening and closing it several times "I feel good, in fact I feel better than before..."

"That's the blessing of the blood but more power you'll get, more echoes you'll need to become stronger. Which means that you will have to kill more beasts from time to time." Gehrman explained with a serious look.

"I can't really tell if it's a blessing or a curse..." Kurama murmured, looking at the old man who chuckled "Matter of points of view but only time will give us an answer. Now, Naruto, I'll explain some key concepts for hunters." the boy turned to him and nodded, sitting down again "As you have already seen the hunters kill their prey with weapons decidedly out of the ordinary, especially for you ninja, but they are not the only tools in their hand." the Doll went to the workbench and returned to them with a bottle filled with a strange liquid with a cloth stuffed inside, some white pills and a syringe full of blood.

Gehrman picked up the bottle "Many beasts fear the fire and that's why hunters exploit the molotov like this to take advantage in their hunts. There are also special papers that, when rubbed on your weapon, will envelop it with flames or lightning, making it more lethal."

"Err...excuse the interruption, but we ninja can do those things without the need of strange objects..." Naruto said making Kurama giggling, but the old man just smiled "Can you actually use some **Katon(Fire Release)** or **Raiton(Lightning Release)** jutsu, as they are called?"

"No..."

"Can you learn some of them in the next few days?"

"Definitely no..."

"I thought so therefore, until you'll learn at least two **Katon** jutsu, use these." Gehrman said with a smile, passing the molotov to the boy. The old man then picked up a pill "This is a pill of antidote. Many beast are provided with poisonous claws and fangs. Eating one of these will counteract the poison." Gehrman then picked up the syringe "As your tenant may have noticed, her power does not allow her to heal you as before, at least as far as for the wounds that you've received from the beasts. These Blood Vials..." the Doll showed a small bottle filled with blood "They will allow you to heal much more quickly and replace the lost blood, thus allowing you to regain some vitality."

Naruto nodded "Ok, so I have to drink them and I will feel better...right?"

Gehrman raised an eyebrow as Kurama had to restrain herself from laughing. She knew one of the few fears of Naruto.

"No Naruto, you will need to inject the blood in your body with a syringe. It's still blood, so the process will be more rapid." the old man explained and Naruto paled instantly, becoming white as the doll.

The fear of needles was definitely an ugly beast. ( **Ok, that joke was REALLY horrible...** )

"I-isn't there another way? I can wait eh, Kurama can still heal my wounds!" Naruto whined, staring horrified the syringe.

"No, there is no other way and you can't risk to die for a bleeding wound." Gehrman declared with harsh voice. The boy looked down and nodded slowly, while Kurama turned to the old man "Now that I think, how do you know about the jutsu of the ninja?"

"I can read the memories of Naruto in the same way you saw the end of his fight, in doing so I have access to a lot of knowledge of your current world. Also Hashirama, as I said, was a ninja and told me many times of his world and everything else." Gehrman explained with a smile.

"I forgot that you've trained that trees lover..." Kurama muttered, then noticing the Doll intent to comfort Naruto about the syringes with a smile that, in a few moments, also appeared on the boy's lips. The demon's eyes became red for a moment but eventually Kurama took a deep breath, trying to calm herself "So now what will happen?"

"Naruto will wake up soon. Now the wounds are closed and his body is no longer tired due to the clash." Gehrman said looking at her "You'll remain here and learn a few things about the beasts and about the lives of hunters. Although it may seem strange, I won't be always there so I need someone who can help him as well as the Doll."

Kurama nodded and the man looked back at Naruto "Now, young hunter, it's time for you to go. Come back when you have time and I will try to teach you what I know, also don't give up your life as ninja. Hashirama was a ninja and a hunter after all."

Naruto nodded with a slight smile but before fading, Gehrman spoke again "Ah, can you do me a favor?"

"Sure old man, what do you need?"

"Search clothes that are not ridiculous...I understand the love for the orange but this is just too much." Gehrman said in a flat voice. Naruto snorted loudly, then dissolving into a white light.

 **With Naruto**

The first thing that Naruto felt was the mattress under his back. Definitely better than the rocks in the dream, that's for sure. Opening his eyes, he wasn't surprised to find himself in a hospital room, completely reserved for him.

"Naruto, my boy, are you awake?" asked an elderly sitting next to the bed.

"Hokage-jiji..." Naruto whispered, surprised of his voice since it was low and hoarse. The man, who was wearing a white and red hat, seemed to notice it and took a glass of water "Here, drink."

Naruto drank the water all in one go and finally sighed with relief "Thank you, Hokage-jiji."

Hiruzen smiled warmly, placing the glass on the nightstand "I'm happy to see that you're okay, Naruto. I rushed here as soon as they warned me of what happened."

The memories of the previous hours reappeared in Naruto's mind, leading him to lose the smile "How...how did I get here?"

"The ANBU who found you told me that you screamed until to lose consciousness, after which they brought you here. You've been unconscious for about four hours." Hiruzen said with a sad look, knowing what Naruto had been through. After several minutes of silence, the old man gently cleared his throat and placed a scroll on the bed "Your weapons are inside here. When you leave the hospital, I'll teach you how to use these storage scrolls."

Naruto nodded, picking up the scroll, and Hiruzen decided it was the right time to speak "Also, Naruto, I'd like to talk you about..."

"Of the hunters?" Naruto preceded him, surprising the old ninja who merely nodded "I already know a lot of things and I also know that the First Hokage was a hunter."

The Hokage stared at him in silence for a few moments and then ask "Gehrman?"

Naruto was surprised to hear that name "Do you know him?"

"No, but Hashirama-sama has mentioned to me a few things about his life, including his visits in the Hunter's Dream." the Third explained with a small smile.

"I see..." Naruto looked back at the scroll and then remained silent.

"Naruto, I know that for you this is a difficult moment. So much has happened in too little time and the death of Iruka is certainly a dramatic event, but I need you to be strong for what will happen from here on out." Hiruzen said with a calm voice, making Naruto turn at him "I know about the beasts and that they are dangerous and you're the only one who can kill them permanently. Sometimes I helped Hashirama-sama in his hunt but using only my ninja abilities and jutsu, I wasn't able to eliminate even an enemy. Therefore I want you to be strong, to protect the people you care about."

"But I'm not even a genin."

Don't worry, I know you and I know you're worth a lot more than other genin." the Hokage then took a headband with the emblem of Konoha and gave it to Naruto "Congratulations Naruto, you are now a Leaf ninja." the old man said with a smile and the boy smiled back at him.

"Since I know what awaits you and seen what happened to Iruka, I decided to postpone the date for the assignment of the genin teams." the old man stared at Naruto straight in the eye "Two weeks. In these two weeks I will teach you different things that will help you in the future and imagine that you also train with your new skills as a hunter."

Naruto stared at him with an incredibly serious look and nodded "I'm ready to start, Hokage-jiji!"

"Excellent, my boy! The doctors have told me that for tomorrow you should already be in full force. As soon as you get out, we'll start right away."

Naruto nodded again, looking a last time at his weapon scroll.

The Third smiled and walked toward the door, stopping before going out "Tell me, do you need anything for tomorrow? I will make sure that everything is ready by then."

Naruto thought about it and Hiruzen noticed his expression vary from 'thinking' to 'offense' to 'smiling'. Turning to the Hokage, Naruto nodded "I need some new clothes. Clothes suitable for a hunter."

Hiruzen was surprised by the request but nodded with a smile, guessing that Naruto was ready for the changes in his future life.

"It will be done, my boy. I'm sure that you'll approve your new clothing." and, without another word, he left the room. A moment later, he waved a hand and an ANBU came up beside him, kneeling and ready to serve.

"Search Higurashi-san and tell him that I need to see him immediately. I need the best blacksmith of the entire Konoha as a matter of absolute urgency." the ANBU nodded and vanished immediately after.

Watching the moon through a window, Hiruzen thought 'I _t is time to re-open the workshop of Hashirama-sama._ '

* * *

 **And even this chapter is over! I apologize for the ridiculous length of the chapter but, unfortunately, it only served to fix some things in view of what will happen! In the next chapter we will see Naruto's training as well his new clothing!**

 **Poll time! What kind of clothing would you prefer to see? More ninja and less hunter? More hunter and less ninja? Balanced? Also, what set of Bloodborne should inspire his clothing? Let me know by review or PM!**

 **Small notice: unfortunately, the next chapters will not arrive fast as the these three (due to work and family) but I'll try to hurry up to update! I hope you can understand.**

 **That said, I'd say good night and see you around!**


	4. MOON

**Good evening to all and welcome back with 'Naruto: ninja or hunter?'.**

 **I'm terribly sorry for the huge delay but finally here is the new chapter! As announced, in this chapter we will see Naruto's training result as well as his new equipment!**

 **I don't think there's anything else to say so I leave you with the story!**

 **ENJOY!**

 **WARNING: this story will contain a huge amount of gore, splatter, lemon and other things for adults, so you have been warned.**

 **DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN NARUTO NOR BLOODBORNE**

NOTE:

"Human dialogues"

 _'Human thoughts / mental dialogues'_

" **Demonic dialogues"**

 _ **'Demonic thoughts / mental dialogues'**_

* * *

 **CHAPTER 4: MOON**

It was close.

He could feel it moving in the darkness around him.

The only sound was that of the wind blowing in the fronds of the trees.

Tightening the grip on his weapon, he looked around in search of his prey. No detail escaped his gaze.

A branch snapped behind him and he turned instantly, ready to attack the threat...but there was nothing but a bush. Narrowing his eyes, he approached it with a calm and controlled pace before attacking with a violent slash that cut the bush in half, spreading leaves all around.

No trace of his prey. Or so he thought.

Above his head, a huge shadow jumped on him with a bestial roar, showing sharp fangs and eyes injected with blood.

He turned to fight back with his second weapon, but it was too late. The black beast made him fall to the ground using its muscular body as its hands blocked his wrists. After a low growl, the beast again showed its fangs and...spat a huge blob of saliva in his face.

"You have lost, Naruto-san." said the beast with a grin while a female voice screamed in his head " **Clean it! Clean your face! I can almost feel that saliva on my face! Clean your face NOW!** "

"Ugh...not again..." grumbled Naruto wiping his face with the sleeve of his sweatshirt "I thought I had finally passed the test..."

The beast, a huge black monkey, chuckled at his pout "I'm the best monkey in stealth for a reason. You started to train seriously barely two weeks ago, but I'm pleasantly surprised by the fact that you have already reached this level."

"If you say so..."

"Konguan is right Naruto, you've improved a lot." said an elderly voice behind him.

"Hiruzen-sama." bowed the monkey with respect while Naruto waded at him "Hey there Hokage-jiji, you've already finished your paperwork?"

Hiruzen grinned at him " **Kage Bunshin (Shadow Clone)** my boy, they are really useful with those damn papers."

"Oh I know, after all I am the one who suggest you that jutsu." mocked Naruto with a grin "Amazing how the Professor never thought of that solution, right?"

A tick mark popped out on the Hokage's forehead but then he chuckled with joy "I already thanked you for this useful idea, haven't I? Come on let's go, we have several things to discuss today. You may go Konguan."

"As you wish Hiruzen-sama." the monkey looked at Naruto "Good luck with your training Naruto-san, feel free to challenge me whenever you want." and with that, the monkey returned to its realm with a puff of smoke.

"Let's walk for a while, we must first go to my office." said Hiruzen with a smile before leaving the forest behind the Hokage Rock with Naruto walking at his side.

As they were walking toward the Hokage's tower, the Sandaime asked "So, how did it go?"

"I have passed nine tests on ten. It's a good result but I'm not really happy about it..."

"Oh? Why so?" asked Hiruzen looking at him.

"I know I've been training for just two weeks...but you helped me! Gehrman too! Yet I can not hunt a 'friendly' monkey. I wonder what I can do when I'll find myself in front of a beast like that one..." said Naruto clenching his fists at the memory of the beast that killed Iruka.

Hiruzen looked at him for a few seconds before sighing "I understand how you feel, I understand it perfectly. When Hashirama-sama was still alive, I went with him during a hunt and three more ninja joined, they were all my friends." he paused for a second with a smile, their faces still vivid in his mind "Besides my sensei, I was the only survivor of that hunt. My power, my intelligence, my will...everything was useless against that beast." looking up at the sky, he couldn't help but observe it with sadness "After that day, I began to train with more energy but Hashirama-sama immediately realized that I was moved by despair and nothing else. Before long, he opened my eyes on my mistakes and also asked me to become a hunter like him."

Hiruzen stopped in the middle of the street, shifting his gaze toward the face of Hashirama in the Hokage Rock "Unfortunately, the First Shinobi World War was under way and before I could give him an answer, he died fighting against Iwa."

Naruto looked at him with sad eyes, mentally kicking himself in the ass "I'm sorry for bringing back bad memories..."

"No need to be sorry." said Hiruzen with a warm smile "The past is in the past and after that hunt I never saw other beasts...until two weeks ago."

"Gehrman says it could be an isolated case as not. He advises you to observe the Land of Earth just to be sure as Yharnam lies beyond their west border." explained Naruto and the Hokage nodded.

"I'll call my spymaster for the job. He's the only one who can help us right now without dying after meeting a beast like that."

Returning to focus on the road, they realized they were in front of the tower so they went quickly into his office, where there was already someone waiting for them. The person in question was a tall, robust man with several muscles and tanned skin. His hair was white and held tied in a wild ponytail, his thick beard was scraggly and left free on his chest while his deep black eyes were staring directly at Naruto.

The young boy, even if intimidated by the man, immediately realized that it was a blacksmith because, despite the clean white shirt (on which was written "All roads lead to Anor Londo"), he was wearing black work gloves, worn trousers and dark boots, typical clothes of blacksmiths.

"Ah Higurashi-san, thanks for coming." greeted Hiruzen with a smile as the other man waved a hand in front of him.

"No need for those formalities Hiruzen, you know I can't stand them." said the man with a grin before looking again at Naruto "Is he the one?"

"Yes, you're correct." nodded Hiruzen before addressing the young blond "Naruto, this is Kenichi 'Andre' Higurashi, the best blacksmith of this village and probably the best blacksmith of the whole Land of Fire."

Naruto looked in awe at the now named Kenichi as they shook hands, wincing at the strength used by the blacksmith who laughed at his reaction.

"You are a bit skinny but do not be afraid, in a few months you will not recognize yourself!" said Kenichi with a toothy grin laughing again at his confused face.

"As I said, he's a blacksmith and he will help you. His father was the personal blacksmith of Hashirama-sama and one of the few people who know about the hunters." explained Hiruzen surprising the young Uzumaki "But before continuing, it's best to change place." and with that, he placed a hand over their shoulders and shunshined away from that room, bringing them into a wooded area.

"Where are we?" asked Naruto looking around.

"Behind the Hokage Rock, more precisely behind the head of Hashirama-sama." said Hiruzen walking toward a huge boulder which, apparently, had nothing particular but with his touch, a series of seals became visible. After channeling a bit of chakra in the seals, the rock split in two and the two halves moved alongside, showing that beneath it there was a deep hole with perfectly smooth walls. Naruto also noticed that the rock had been carved inside and there was a lever on the right. Hiruzen pulled the lever slowly and, from the bottom of the hole, they heard a strange sound caused by something moving toward them at a slow pace. After a few seconds, a platform made of rock, wood and metal was shown to their eyes and a square footboard at the center of the platform rose a few inches.

"Good, it still works." nodded the Sandaime with a smile walking on the platform with Naruto and Kenichi before pressing the footboard with both feet. After a slight tremor, the platform began to descend into the depths of the earth and the rock began to close again over them, leaving the three at the mercy of the total darkness.

"Err...Jiji...?" asked Naruto with a worried voice.

"Don't worry Naruto, we're almost there." came the calm voice of Hiruzen.

' _ **I have the impression that we are going to find something incredible. I've never seen such a thing in a village like Konoha.**_ ' said Kurama looking with his eyes and Naruto could only nod at her words. When the platform stopped, Hiruzen began to walk in the darkness, telling to the others to stand still and wait for the light.

"Where was it? I'm sure it was around here..." mumbled Hiruzen touching the rock wall on his right before smiling "There you are!"

Before Naruto could ask for anything, a sudden light almost blinded him, forcing him to cover his face with an arm. After lowering the arm, he gasped at the sight in front of him.

The three of them were facing a huge square room made entirely of stone with some wooden beams visible in the ceiling, close to the strange stained glass windows from which filtered the light that now illuminated the entire room. In the middle of each wall there was a golden metal door, except for the one where they were, as the elevator's platform was in plain sight with a lever, similar to that in the rock, on the right.

Above each door there was a metal plate and, starting from the left, the nameplates recited ' _Cafeteria – Hot Springs – Living Room_ ', ' _Armory – Workshop – Forge_ ' and ' _Private accommodation – Training Grounds_ '. In addition, towards the corners of the room there were some libraries with wooden crates and barrels near them. The last visible element was the symbol of Konoha made of red stone and stuck in the middle of the room's floor.

"Woah...what's this place?" asked Naruto looking around in awe.

"This is a hunter hideout built by Hashirama-sama with the help of his wife, Mito-sama." Naruto could clearly hear a low growl in the back of his mind "Being the only true hunter of his time, Hashirama-sama knew he could not rule a village and kill beasts at the same time. His goal was to find new hunters and train them to protect the village but unfortunately he did not even find one valid hunter before his death. As far as I know, I'm the only one he ever asked to become a hunter, but I could be wrong. The only ones who knew about this place were Tobirama-sama, Mito-sama, myself and Kenichi's father."

"Wait...the Nidaime Hokage was his brother, right? Why not become a hunter?" asked Naruto confused by this story.

"Simple, Tobirama-sama was a genius and created a lot of jutsu, the **Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (** **Shadow Clone Technique)** is one of his best creations. He accompanied his brother during some of his hunts, but after seeing that the preys were merely some 'simple' beasts stronger than normal, he preferred to continue focusing on the ninja world so that he could keep his eyes on the Uchiha clan. Hashirama-sama has never tried to impose a decision on him and he also nominated his little brother as Nidaime Hokage shortly before departing for what became his last mission." explained Hiruzen with a small smile "On the other hand, he prevented Mito-sama from following him because of the Kyuubi inside her. Hashirama-sama just did not want to risk losing his wife and releasing the fox."

' _Kurama?_ '

' _ **Yes, I can confirm that. Despite being an idiot tree lover he really loved his wife and did not want to risk losing her.**_ ' said Kurama with annoyance in her voice before adding ' _ **Now I understand her worry back then...her**_ _ **seal did not allow me to see through her eyes and I did not even have access to her memories, I could only perceive her emotions.**_ '

"Mito-sama has never even talked with my mother about this then?" asked Naruto surprising Kenichi who looked immediately at Hiruzen who simply nodded at him.

Thanks to Kurama, Naruto knew who his parents were, and despite the wrath that had pervaded him at that time, he had managed to calm down after a few hours. Hiruzen was the only one he had confided to his discovery, and the old Hokage had admitted with great shame to know it already, but had promised to his parents to tell him the truth once he became chūnin. After speaking for several hours, Hiruzen had given him access to his parent's bank funds advising him, however, to use the money sparingly. Naruto had obviously accepted the advice and had used some money only to fix his apartment because, under Hiruzen's recommendation, it was best to avoid moving to the compound of his parents right now.

"Correct. After Hashirama-sama's death, no other beasts appeared and so this place was never used but luckily Mito-sama's seals kept it in order." explained Hiruzen referring to the seals that prevented things from deteriorating and prevented the formation of dust "Now follow me."

The three of them walked toward the second door and Hiruzen placed a hand over the metal, showing new seals who moved for a few seconds with his chakra. In the end, the seals disappeared and the door shifted toward the roof in a slot designed for it. Behind the door was a short corridor lit up in the same way as the main room and even here three golden doors were visible. One on the right, one on the left and one on the bottom of the corridor.

"On the right there is the armory but it is practically empty except for some dummies used for training and one or two cases full of launch knives. On the left, on the other hand, there is the forge and I think there are still a few materials brought here by Hashirama-sama, mostly metals." said Hiruzen passing by those doors before stopping in front of the last door, using the same method for opening it, showing a huge room full of workbenches, racks, boxes, chests, barrels and other things. Unlike the main room, in the center of the workshop there was a different symbol always made of red stone and Naruto, thanks to the hours spent studying in the Hunter's Dream, recognized it immediately.

The Hunter's Mark.

"This was Hashirama-sama's workshop. Kenichi's father worked here for a few months before passing away." explained Hiruzen "It is full of stocks with which you can repair and upgrade your weapons if the one in the dream is not enough provided."

"Well all this is very cool but do not you think that it's too much for a single person? The workshop in the dream is more than enough for me." said Naruto with a puzzled face and Hiruzen couldn't help but smile while looking at Kenichi.

"Is everything ready?"

"I'm sorry to say this but I have not finished. I was about to start the last thing when an ANBU of yours came to tell me that you wanted to see me. For tomorrow morning you will have everything." explained Kenichi and the Sandaime nodded.

"Well Naruto, it seems like that you'll need to wait until tomorrow." said the old man with a smile before adding "Also, from the next week consider yourself a student of Kenichi."

"Huh?"

"That's right boy, you're going to be a blacksmith like me. While I'm the best blacksmith in the whole village I also have a shop to keep going and I can not leave it all in the hands of my granddaughter so I can not always help with your orders or weapons. With me you will learn all the forging tricks and by doing so this place will become your own playground." explained Kenichi "Besides, I know that despite all you risk much more than other ninjas like my granddaughter so when you need something I'll always make a discount on your purchases in my shop."

"Thank you old man! I appreciate it!" exclaimed Naruto with a wide smile before looking back at the Hokage "So...what now?"

"First of all, we will add your blood to the main matrix of the seals of this place so you can use them as well. Here the doors, the elevator and other things all work with the seals. Just apply a little chakra and they will turn on." explained the Sandaime walking back in the main room before applying some chakra in the Konoha's symbol in the floor. After a couple of seconds, a huge block of rock rose from the floor and an intricate series of seals became visible.

Hiruzen cut their fingers with a kunai an applied their blood on the main matrix which glowed red for a brief moment.

"There, all done. Now Naruto you can explore this place or return to the village. Remember that tomorrow morning at ten you will have to be in my office for a very important issue regarding your future." said Hiruzen with a serious face and Naruto nodded before walking toward the door for the private accommodation. In the meantime, Hiruzen and Kenichi walked back to the elevator, returning to the surface.

"That guy is very young...too young..." said Kenichi looking at the leader of Konoha who nodded with a sigh.

"Unexpected events forced him to grow up quickly. Despite my efforts to raise the graduation age to fifteen years I have not managed to keep him safe from the cruelty of the world..." murmured Hiruzen with sad eyes "Even your niece is young and yet she has become a kunoichi a year ago."

"Do not remind me. I love my daughter and granddaughter but damn, they have a head hard like a granite block. I never managed to make her change her mind. Every time she goes on a mission I can not calm down until I see her coming home." said Kenichi shaking his head "But Naruto is different...he's alone except for a few people who can see beyond his Jinchuuriki status."

"I understand what you mean and if it was for me, he would never come to know about this whole thing...the life of a ninja is already dangerous even without demonic beasts and what else..." agreed Hiruzen with a nod looking at the village "Unfortunately, this is not the case and now he has to pay the price."

"Do you think he's ready?"

"Honestly...I don't know. He was already good before these two weeks. Although many teachers have tried to undermine his learning, he has been able to learn albeit at a different speed from his peers. If we only look at his advancement as a ninja, I would say he's already at low to mid chūnin level..." said Hiruzen thinking at the previous weeks.

And it was true. During those days, Naruto had improved greatly as a ninja. His precision with kunai and shuriken had improved as well as his taijutsu. On the ninjutsu side, they had discovered, much to Hiruzen's surprise, that his main affinity was **Fūton** **(Wind Release)** , followed by **Suiton (Water Release)** , most likely inherited from his mother, and **Katon (Fire Release)** thanks to the presence of Kurama inside him. Under Hiruzen's advice, Naruto had learned at least one jutsu for every affinity with the help of the **Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (** **Shadow Clone Technique)** and he was starting to learn the **Shunshin no Jutsu** **(** **Body Flicker Technique** **)**.

"What about his hunter skills?" asked Kenichi looking at his friend who sighed again.

"The training with kunai has improved his ability with the throwing knives used by hunters. He was already good with the stealth before starting the academy and his skill has only increased since, in some situations, he will have to approach his prey in silence. He is also studying many approach tactics as he can not afford to charge like a bull against one of those beasts. I also applied a seal on each of his palms so that he could carry his weapons with him without any suspicion." explained Hiruzen "In general it is going well, but I'm afraid for his mind."

"What do you mean?"

"The life of a ninja is dangerous and full of death. Naruto knows this well and has already seen dying two people in front of his eyes. However, a hunter's life could lead him to situations considered too strong even by a veteran ANBU like Kakashi Hatake." said Hiruzen looking at the ground "He's only fifteen years old and yet...he will be forced to live a life worthy of a war veteran."

Kenichi nodded at those words, looking at the village where the civilians so as the ninja were unaware of the dangers hidden in the darkness.

"Well...we just need to hope for the best. He won't break that easily, he's an Uzumaki after all." grinned Kenichi and Hiruzen couldn't help but smile at that truth.

"Yeah, you're right."

 **That evening – With Naruto**

"Aaah! I really needed it!" exclaimed Naruto after emptying his tenth bowl of ramen.

"You were really hungry Naruto. Usually you get to the tenth bowl after at least twelve minutes, today it took only ten." chuckled Ayame from the kitchen of the ramen stand.

"You could say that. Today I've trained even more than usual." explained Naruto with a grin before starting his eleventh bowl. After exploring the shelter for good, he had decided to stop there all day so to use the training grounds where he had honed his mastery with the Saw Cleaver thanks to the special dummies that had the same shape as the beast he had killed two weeks ago. And after so much training, his stomach had begun to claim his beloved ramen.

' _ **Remember what we told you Naruto. You also have to eat something else other than that stuff or you will be forever short.**_ ' said Kurama with a scolding voice.

' _I'm not that short! Not anymore!_ '

' _ **But you could be taller...if only you had listened to my advice TWO YEARS AGO!**_ ' shouted Kurama making him wince.

' _Yeah yeah..._ ' grumbled Naruto while chewing his ramen. He wasn't that short damn it! The emo prince Sasuke Uchiha was taller by just one inch!

"Naruto, tomorrow would you go with me to pick up my dad? Finally the doctors will resign him from the hospital." asked Ayame walking toward the counter where her favorite customer was eating.

"Mh? Oh sure Ayame-nee-chan!" nodded Naruto with a smile. Mentally, he could not help but chuckle at the memory of Ayame after she had told him what had happened to her father. The day after that fateful night where Iruka had lost his life, Teuchi had come to know the story and, worried about Naruto, had immediately headed for the hospital only to stumble on the steps of their house, breaking his right forearm and left leg. All by himself.

"Thanks! I'm sure he'll be glad to see you there to accompany him home." smiled Ayame before returning in the kitchen. After ten minutes, and ten more bowls, Naruto decided that it was time to go home so he put the money on the counter and greeted Ayame, who was trying to bring out a garbage bag in the alley next to the restaurant.

"Do you need help?" asked Naruto with a little grin looking at her face who was red for the effort. What the hell was in that sack? Bricks?

"No...thanks...I...can...do it...alone!" shouted Ayame taking a step at each word toward the door. Naruto chuckled again before heading toward his apartment "Good night Ayame-nee-chan!"

"Good...night...Naruto!" Ayame mentally cursed the weight of the vanity and the fact that the producers of some foods were still using iron and non-plastic cans for their products. Finally, after a few minutes, she managed to lift the sack with the last effort and throw it into the waste bin with a sigh of relief. Wiping the sweat from her forehead, she turned to go back to the restaurant when she heard a slight growl from the bottom of the alleyway. Turning to that direction, she glimpsed a small silhouette approaching her and two white eyes looking at her from the darkness.

"A dog?" asked Ayame to herself since she had already seen stray dogs in that area and were more or less big like the one that was still approaching.

When the dog was close enough to be illuminated by the light of the main road, she widened her eyes in horror.

Soon after, a scream was heard in the cold air of the night.

 **With Naruto**

' _Gehrman wants to talk to me?_ ' mentally asked Naruto walking toward his apartment.

' _ **Yes, apparently he wants to talk to you about what you saw today with the old monkey.**_ ' explained Kurama with annoyance in her voice since she was forced to pass all the messages of Gehrman. After the first day of training they had discovered, much to Kurama's annoyance, that neither Gehrman nor the Doll could talk to Naruto mentally as Kurama did and so one of her new tasks was to tell him what Gehrman was saying.

' _Okay, as soon as I get home..._ ' Naruto froze in the middle of the street with wide open eyes. A distant sound echoed in his ears. A scream.

' _ **Naruto! That voice...!**_ ' Kurama couldn't even finish her sentence that he was already rushing to the restaurant he had just left, his mind racing a mile per second. It took him only one minute to go back and from afar he saw that the lights in the stand were still lit but there was no one sitting at the stools. However, now he could distinctly hear the desperate cries of Ayame in the nearby alley. With a last sprint he reached the entrance of the alley where he was frozen for a whole second. With a last sprint he reached the entrance of the alley and, after watching for only one second the scene in front of him, his heart nearly stopped beating.

There, a few feet away from him, Ayame was with her back to the ground and a monstrous dog was above her, intent on tearing up her right forearm. The claws of its right paw were stuck in her left arm, blocking it against the ground, while those of the left paw were slashing her shoulder. Blood was everywhere and her screams filled the air but in that second of complete shock, Naruto did not hear any sound.

' _ **NARUTO!**_ '

The yell of Kurama awakened him from the trance and without wasting even another second, he sprinted forward cracking the ground.

The dog was so focused on its prey and the taste of her blood that it did not see Naruto until the last second, that is or when his fist struck against its skull, throwing the beast down the alley. Without even slowing down, Naruto kept running while channeling some chakra in the seal on his right palm. With a white poof, the Saw Cleaver appeared in his hand, its serrated blade shining under the moonlight.

The dog recovered in that moment and jumped at him but Naruto did not have time to waste with a mere dog and had already raised his right arm. When the animal was within reach, he dropped a devastating blow straight on the dog's skull. The bloodcurdling sound of broken bones overwhelmed Ayame's screams as the body of the animal was crushed against the ground by the pressure of the attack.

Naruto completely ignored the red mist coming out of the dog's body to then enter into his, and ran straight away to Ayame. With horror, he could observe the extend of the damage and what he saw made him almost froze again.

She was a bloody mess. Her left arm had three deep gashes from which a lot of blood was leaking and the same could be said for the right shoulder where the gashes were more numerous but less deep. Her right forearm, however...

Naruto could almost completely see the bones from her elbow to the wrist. The blood was flowing out in large quantities, besmirching their clothes and the floor beneath Ayame as her screams did not seem to diminish.

"Ayame! Please hang in there!" screamed Naruto holding her in his arms before sprinting toward the hospital, ignoring the screams of some people who had gathered after hearing the screams. His ears were deaf to everything, even the screams of Kurama s he channeled more chakra in his legs in order to go faster. Looking down for a second, his heart skipped a beat at seeing the pale face of Ayame and her semi-open eyes, her screaming now ceased.

"Ayame! Stay awake! Don't close your eyes! Please stay awake!"

Warm tears began to flow down his cheeks as the hospital at the bottom of the street became closer and closer. When he was about thirty feet away from the double glass doors of the building, he shifted Ayame slightly so that he could hold her only with the left arm while his right hand moved fast to his shuriken pouch.

With a fluid movement of the arm, he threw four shuriken to the glass surface which shattered instantly, allowing him to rush inside without slowing down while paying attention to nearby patients. Stopping shortly after entering, Naruto began to look around panicked, searching for a doctor.

An elderly man with short gray hair and beard looked with anger at the boy while yelling "You punk! What the hell are you...?!" but his words quickly died in his throat as he saw the girl in his arms and all the blood on their clothes.

"Please..." Naruto's voice was just a whisper but the man managed to hear it "Please save her..."

In a fraction of a second, the old doctor's face turned from shock to deadly serious as he looked at a couple of nurses not far away "Bring here a stretcher and prepare an operating room for the girl! Top priority! I want six bags of blood type 0-minus for the transfusion! NOW!"

The two nurses and three other doctors who were close to the entrance ran away quickly to do as required while the old doctor approached Naruto and Ayame, looking at her with a worried face "What happened to her?"

Naruto simply looked at her pale and unmoving form without saying anything. The doctor shook his shoulder with a hand and asked again "Boy I need to know what happened to her? Was she attacked?"

This time, Naruto nodded slowly "A big stray dog..."

Soon a stretcher came and Ayame was taken away. Naruto followed her until he was stopped by two nurses in front of the operating room.

"I'm sorry but you need to wait here." said one of the two before entering the room with her colleague leaving a scared Naruto in the middle of the aisle. Unconsciously, Naruto channeled some chakra into his ears.

' _ **Naruto please stop. Don't do it.**_ '

The blond ignored Kurama's voice as he began to hear the voices of the doctors in the room.

"She has lost too much blood, several veins and arteries were severed!"

"Blood pressure in decline!" shouted a female voice followed by a long high-pitched sound "Her pulse is gone!"

' _Please no...not her..._ '

' _ **Naruto...stop...**_ '

"Move away! I'll get her heart going!" came the thunderous voice of the old doctor. After a couple of seconds, a sudden short noise echoed in the room.

"No response!"

"I'm going again!" his voice followed by the same sound.

"No response!"

' _Please Ayame...you can't die...not you..._ '

' _ **Naruto do not listen anymore! Stop!**_ '

"AGAIN!" the same sound.

"No response!"

Naruto was now crying desperately as the voices of the doctors filled his head, until a new voice caught him off guard. He was so focused on their voices that he had not heard the sound of a wheelchair approaching him.

"Naruto? Is that you? What are you doing here?"

The blonde's throat suddenly became dry, with no way to talk. Without realizing it, shortly after Ayame had entered the room, Naruto had fallen on his knees in front of the door. When he turned slowly toward the origin of the voice, he found himself at the eye level of the voice's owner.

He almost didn't see anything.

He didn't see the wheelchair.

He didn't see the nurse behind the wheelchair.

He didn't see the leg in a plaster or the arm in the same condition.

He only saw the worried and confused face of Teuchi just as the grave voice of the old doctor reached his ears.

"Time of death...11:27 p.m."

 **The next day – Hokage's Office**

Hiruzen could only sigh at the sight of the documents on his desk. Only one folder was present but he would have preferred to do endless paperwork throughout his life rather than receive that particular folder from the hospital. Inside there were reports of the head doctor of the hospital as well as of the coroner and all concerned a single person.

Ichiraku Ayame. Died for blood loss due to wounds caused by a stray dog that had attacked her in the alley near the restaurant where she worked.

Hiruzen had sent someone to examine the alley in search of the dog, and the ninja he sent had found the dog's corpse. In their report they explained that it had been killed by a large blade with a head shot and then sealed its body in a scroll, which was currently alongside the folder. He had examined the body and was sure of one thing. That was not a simple stray dog.

He sighed again.

' _I can only imagine how Naruto and Teuchi feel right now..._ '

The intercom on his desk came to life in that moment and his secretary's voice was heard in the room, though she seemed somewhat nervous "Hokage-sama, there's one Uzumaki Naruto here for you."

Hiruzen slightly widened his eyes before pressing a button on the intercom "Send him here."

"At once." and the communication ended with a short static noise.

After a couple of minutes, someone knocked at the door and Hiruzen said "Enter."

As soon as the door opened, he searched for Naruto's eyes. Worst mistake of his life.

Naruto's eyes were empty. Dead. There was no trace of the energetic boy to whom he had shown a secret workshop for hunters the day before.

His heart was on the point of breaking into a thousand pieces at the sight of his surrogate grandson in that state. Even after three wars, his mind could not endure such a vision.

"Naruto...?"

The blond looked up at him, no trace of life on his face "Yes...Jiji...?"

Hiruzen gulped loudly before gesturing something to the three hidden ANBU who left the room at the same time. After that, Hiruzen went through a short series of hand seals and the room glowed blue for a brief moment.

"Naruto...are you okay? I know that it's hard for you...I really know but please, do not fall into that abyss. If you fall there is no way out." pleaded Hiruzen with sad eyes at the blond who simply looked at the floor.

Several seconds of silence later, something fell to the ground. Something small and liquid.

The old Hokage pursed his lips as he saw Naruto's shoulders tremble slightly, while other tears fell to the ground.

"It's my fault..." cried Naruto "It's only my fault...I left her alone..."

Hiruzen got up and went to embrace Naruto, trying to comfort him as much as possible.

"No Naruto don't say that, it's not your fault. No one could foresee such a thing." said the Hokage patting his back "Actually the blame is just mine, I should have had more patrols around the village. If I did, maybe she would still be alive."

"She was bringing out the garbage...I asked her if she wanted a hand...but she said no and...I...I went away...I left her alone..." sobbed Naruto with warm tears on his face as his mind was still trying to understand that Ayame was dead, just like Iruka "It's all my fault...Iruka...Ayame...they died because of me...!"

Hiruzen sighed again looking at the pictures of his predecessors. Breaking away from him so that he could see the young blond in the face, he asked "Naruto, do you know the story about Orochimaru, the snake sannin?"

Confused by the sudden question, Naruto could only shake his head. He knew the name but not the story behind it.

"He was my student along with the other two sannin. He was my favorite and I thought that he could become the Yondaime Hokage." said Hiruzen with a small smile which faded away almost instantly "Unfortunately the darkness took hold of his mind and when I discovered his secret lab, it was already too late. The boy who so impressed me was dead, leaving room for a man obsessed with power and eternal life. That night I faced my student, hoping to be able to reason with him, but he did not listen to me, making fun of my kind heart. He killed the ANBU with me and I could not even move a muscle to stop him. After killing the last ninja, he fled away without paying attention to me."

The old leader looked back at Naruto who was now looking at him with attention and sadness in his eyes.

"From that day on, he became a missing nin and not a day goes by that I regret not having stopped him that night. If I had been up to the task assigned to me, perhaps many people would still be alive today." said Hiruzen with a sore voice "But despite this I did not want to give up the position as Hokage and I tried in all ways to make amend. Maybe you've heard of a certain Mitarashi Anko."

Naruto nodded having seen her some times during his pranks when he was younger.

"Well, she's the former student of Orochimaru and most of the village repudiates her because she is associated with him despite her loyalty to me and Konoha. The council has always tried to make her vanish in the nothing but I have always been opposed and that is why today she is one of our most effective ninja even though people continue to look at her with eyes full of anger, disgust and fear."

Hiruzen showed a little smile at his surrogate grandson "Do you understand now Naruto? Life is not easy and we all make choices that we then regret for all our lives. But that does not mean that you have to surrender to the darkness. You are still young and yet you have already had a great taste of how unfair this world is. I know that the death of Iruka and Ayame has seriously hurt you, but that does not mean that you can not help all those you love and those you will love in the future. If you decide to abandon your road, I'm sure Iruka would come to you to rebuke you and Ayame would forbid you to eat ramen for at least a month."

Naruto couldn't help but chuckle with a small smile. It wasn't his usual warm chuckle but at least it wasn't even empty like his eyes.

"Thanks Jiji..." said Naruto looking at him and the Hokage nodded with a warm smile before returning behind his desk "Now, about what I wanted to talk about with you..." and here he tossed him a scroll before pointing at a door "Use that room to change your clothes and then come back here."

Naruto raised an eyebrow but did as he required and went to the side room where he began to take off his clothes. After that, he channeled some chakra into the seal on the scroll and with a white poof, a dummy appeared before him and Naruto could not help but grin.

In his office, Hiruzen had to wait at least ten minutes but when Naruto came back to him, the old Hokage found himself in front of a young man ready to go ahead and face his destiny.

Gone were the tracksuit and ninja sandals as in their place now there were clothes suitable for a real hunter.

Starting from below, Naruto wore a pair of black leather boots high up to the calf with toes and heels reinforced by a light layer of dark metal, the same material used for the shin guards that protected his legs up to the knee, with dark orange leather straps. Below them there were black trousers with a belt of the same color and a dark metal plate as buckle. His upper body, on the other hand, was protected by a mesh shirt, an adherent black leather dress with three horizontal dark orange straps on the chest and lastly a black coat with a high collar that reached down to his calves. On his arms, however, there were black forearm guards over the coat sleeves, similar to those of the ANBU but more definite and less bulky, combined with black gloves. The last touch was a black hat tilted forward with the frontal tip at the eye level while the back reminded of withered feathers.

"So...?" asked Naruto looking at the surprised face of his surrogate grandfather.

' _ _ **In my opinion, you're not bad at all, black suits you more than orange.**__ _'_ said Kurama with a warm voice, happy to see him out of his broken state.

' _ _Heh...at least there's still some orange.__ ' noticed Naruto looking down at the leather straps.

"You remind me of my sensei Naruto." nodded Hiruzen with a smile "When he was wearing his set, he had an intimidating air out of the ordinary and I'm sure that with time you will reach that level." but then his eyes suddenly became serious "Now I can see that you are going to continue on this road, and despite having mixed feelings about it, I have to talk to you about your future as ninja and as a hunter."

Naruto looked at Hiruzen in slight confusion but then nodded, allowing him to continue.

"Tomorrow there will be the team assignment of your class but I wish that you didn't go there. Another young genin will take your place." said Hiruzen shocking him but then the Hokage raised his hand, stopping his protests at birth "I know that you want to become Hokage and what I'm about to do will not stop you from realizing that dream." Naruto calmed down a bit bu was still tense about this story.

"You do not know it, but the ANBU are not the only ninja branch that works in the shadows. One of my counselors and former teammate, Shimura Danzo, has a small private army called ROOT. I have dismantled that organization years ago, believing that his methods were too rigid and violent but he continued to act in the shadows, believing that he could hide all of this from me. I have told him nothing because, despite his lack of respect, he wants to protect Konoha and his ninja have done such dangerous and suicidal missions that even the normal ANBU did not want to take them." explained Hiruzen with the serious look still on his face "This is where you come into play. Naruto, you're not a simple ninja. Not anymore. You are a hunter and as such you will have to embark on extremely dangerous missions. The beast that killed Iruka and the dog that attacked Ayame are clear signs of an imminent danger, a danger that only the hunters can stop."

Naruto remained silent, assimilating the words of the leader of the village.

Hiruzen tilted to the right and searched for something in a drawer. After a few seconds, he pulled out something covered with a veil and put it on the desk, pushing it toward Naruto.

"Hunters operate at night when the moon is high and the beasts move in search of a prey but as my sensei said, a man alone can not protect a nation." continued Hiruzen while Naruto slowly removed the veil, looking in awe at a metal mask made entirely of quicksilver. It was smooth and flawless, with two eye holes and a symbol engraved on the forehead.

The Hunter's Mark.

"As a ninja you will still answer to me and you will be assigned as support to other teams if necessary...while as a hunter, you will have to fight those beasts and kill them but you will also have to recruit and train new hunters for your organization." said Hiruzen.

Naruto looked up from the mask. Confusion evident on his face "My organization...?"

Hiruzen nodded before handing him a new scroll on which where visible the mark of Konoha and the one of the Land of Fire "This is an official document signed by me and the Daimyō, the only person out of Konoha who knows about the existence of hunters. With this document, we authorize the birth of MOON, an organization of hunters whose purpose will be to protect our land from those beasts and you, Naruto, will be the leader of this organization." Hiruzen explained while amused by the shocked face of Naruto "As hunters, you will not answer to anyone, not even to me or theDaimyō. Each member of MOON will have a traveling right to move freely across the various Lands, and you will have no restriction on your recruits. Ninja, missing nin, hunter nin, mercenaries...recruit who you think most appropriate, even people who could help MOON without becoming hunters, such as blacksmiths, merchants, and so on, just be sure they are loyal to you and your purpose. Your base will be the hideout that I showed you yesterday but feel free to expand it or build another base."

Naruto was simply speechless. He would never have imagined such a development.

"However as Hokage I can not be held responsible for your actions and the same applies to the Daimyō, so it would be best to keep this document a secret between us. In addition to that, we'll try to help you with funds and resources to the best of our ability without arousing suspicion with the village or our allies and enemies. In the eyes of the people, yours will be a private mercenary organization that accepts paid assignments and of course you will also accept those jobs in order to earn funds and credibility." concluded Hiruzen with his still serious face.

"I...don't know what to say...really..." admitted Naruto looking down at the mask "Wait...if I become the leader of MOON how can I help the others as a ninja?"

"As I said, you'll be used as a support of other teams but you will be used as the last resource. When you are not in mission, you will continue to train and periodically, I will come to check your progress and I will promote you myself. If you'll be promoted then you will have to get a ninja battle gear too since your membership to MOON will have to remain a secret." explained Hiruzen "It'll be difficult, I know, and that's why you've a choice right now..."

Hiruzen pointed at the mask "You can choose to became the leader of MOON thus slowing your progress in your ninja career...or you can decide to be a simple ninja with hunter skills. You will be assigned to a genin team and only when you are available will you be able to go to hunt down the beasts. By doing so, you will progress faster as a ninja but not as a hunter. Choose now Naruto."

The young hunter was silent, staring at the mask on the table. That was a choice from which depended his destiny. His dream was to become Hokage but could he really chase his dream without remorse, knowing that he had such a choice? In Konoha there were ninja more skilled than him, ready to become Hokage before him but he was also a hunter. The only hunter of all Konoha and perhaps all the Elemental Countries.

For a single moment, the smiling faces of Iruka and Ayame appeared in his mind and after closing his eyes, he took a deep breath.

"I've decided."

Hiruzen seemed to hold back his breath after hearing those words "And your answer is...?"

With a single arm movement, Naruto put on the mask that was specifically made for his face. The seals in its interior kept it perfectly attached to his skin while a slight layer of shadow covered his head and neck, hiding them with a simple Genjutsu. Behind the mask, Naruto looked at Hiruzen straight into his eyes and inclined his head with the left arm over the chest in a perfect hunter's salutation.

"I would like to discuss about the funds for my organization, Hokage-sama." said the hunter with a deep voice, altered by a seal in the mask.

The old Hokage released his breath and, despite the heavy weight on his heart, smiled at the young man in front of him. Looking back at the masked hunter he nodded "Very well hunter-san but, hoping not to be intrusive, could I know your name?"

Naruto looked at his surrogate grandfather for a couple of seconds until a little grin appeared on his face.

"Of course Hokage-sama. My name is..."

* * *

 **TO BE CONTINUED...**

* * *

 **Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaand that's it! End of this new chapter! Again, I'm terribly sorry for the delay and I hope you have not forgotten this story! And speaking about this story, I hope you enjoyed this chapter!**

 **Now is the time to explain some things just to be sure!**

 **1) Yes, Naruto knows who his parents are but he will not automatically become very strong thanks to all their knowledge and before you ask: NO, he will not have the chakra chains.**

 **2) Yes, I added Andre of Astora from Dark Souls because in my opinion it was a nice addition and I can already warn you that in the future I will add other things from Dark Souls.**

 **3) Naruto's set: basically it's a black Hunter Set (B) without leather strap diagonally across the chest, Hunter Hat of the Hunter Set (A), modified ANBU forearm guards, a mesh shirt and lastly Leonhard's mask from Dark Souls 3 (** **you can say what you want but his appearance clearly remember a hunter).**

 **4) I answer to one Guest from the last chapter. Yes, Naruto will change equipment and upgrade some weapons.**

 **5) Naruto will become grey in the next chapters, he just needed a serious motivation (Yes, to me the death of Iruka and Ayame count as motivation!)**

 **6) It's poll time again! This time I want to hear your ideas regarding Narutos' new name! He will always be called Naruto but will have a code name when working for MOON (just like Kakashi was Inu in ANBU) so let me hear your ideas! It can be in English or Japanese and it does not have to be an animal, but it must be just one word.**

 **I think I've said everything and for now I'm leaving!**

 **See you around and have a good morning/day/afternoon/night!**


End file.
